General TSO's Chicken !!

Hi all,
It's the first chance I've had to write today.

Last night Anne called me as I left the job.  She asked if I was interested in picking up some 'take out'.  I was pleased that she was up for it, however  cautiously optimistic.

After 7pm we had Chinese food at home, it was late for her to eat.  Let's just cap this off by saying it was an awful night with Anne being up for the most of it while I just listened to her struggle.

She was pretty wiped out this morning.  We had twin dentist appointments at 8am and we made it to them.  After that, Laurie visited at the house and it was a blessing.  Anne had her eyes closed for alot of that time, but I know she was happy to spend time with family.

At noontime Karolyn arrived ready to take Anne to her hydration appointment at 1pm.  We couldn't get it scheduled for the morning this time.  On their way home Karolyn took Anne to the church so she could pick up the Treasurer's mail, then they shopped a bit at the grocery store.  So, Anne was very active today on the whole, and even on the way home from hydration in Scarborough.  All good. 

I worked earlier than usual today, an early dismissal day for the kids, which means the teachers had a big meeting together this afternoon.  So, 'After School Program' today was 5 hours long, not 3. It was fun.

Anne tolerated a one egg omlette and piece of toast for supper tonight. She was exhausted after that, and now she's gone off to bed.

In the morning we have a hydration appointment at 9:30, so we'll be up and away by 8:45.

Hi all readers,
It was an OK afternoon Monday, not good, Anne didn't feel well.  I worked 3 hours (back after a week off) and she slept while I was gone.  Anne had a salad and tolerated it ok for supper.  She made it herself.  It was a tough evening, and just an OK night overnight.  We're on a roll.

Guess where we are?  MCCM getting hydration.  It's Tuesday am..  Anne had toast this morning and it worked for her. 

We're trying to mix the nausea meds and give them on more of a timed schedule today, whether she needs it or not, trying to stay ahead of it.   She needed a pain pill today after the hydration started.  I ran for gas and picked up a repair at GM Pollack after she drifted asleep.  This way I can take her straight home when we're done here.  We find the smoothest road surface and drive like there's an eggshell between my foot and the gas peddle, it makes the ride better for her.

Anne is not so sick today.  She's miserable, but better.  Does that make sense?  Positive or negative???  Who knows at this point?  Poor kid.

Today her friend Karolyn is coming to sit with Anne at 1pm at home.  I'm going to see Carli and Emma's Xmas concert.  I'll work after that at 2:45pm for 3 hours.  Thanks to you Karolyn !!

We're looking forward to a better night tonight.  I see it coming.  This particlar chemo mix from last week has played havoc with Anne like nothing else.  The Drs here promise to shake things up next time (Dec 14-16) to try and make it better.  It's hard for me to imagine Anne going thru anything again like the last 7 days have been, nor me.

The stress is out of her face right now as she rests.  I'm encouraged.

Thanks for reading.

Love to all.

Monday Mornin Update

We went straight home from MMC on Sunday.  I've learned, it's not worth trying to squeeze in any errands during these trips.  Anne always ends up paying the price.  All this riding is hard on her.

On getting home Anne sat and said, 'I'm exhausted'.  Next thing I knew she was up trying to cut sweet potatoes, asparagus, and cut a game hen in half.  I chipped in and we got everything cut and covered in olive oil and some salt, spread them on a foil covered baking sheet along with the 2 game hen halves.  We baked it 1 hour at 350 degrees.  It came out great.

Thing is, Anne hasn't done anything like that since before last Monday's ERCP.  She was back in her element, and feeling well enough to do stuff, or so it seemed.  It seemed good.  Problem is, she req'd a pain pill afterwards, afterall, we are on a roller coaster for sure.

We really didn't pay attention to the Pat's game Sunday afternoon because we had Dana for company.   That was a treat.

Then, I really enjoyed the meal, while Anne had just a little bit of it.  As I've said, the good Lord didn't take her appetite when he gave her the cancer.  Almost wish he had.  Yes, she paid the price for having eaten.

Anne had a better evening than usual, sleeping and watching a little TV.
Low and behold, she had a lousy night in bed with a sour stomach bothering her overnight.  She was sick on getting up in the morning too.  Dry heaves, nausea, etc.  She did ask for a piece of toast and jelly.  That was followed by diareah and she was just ill in the morning.

With that, we made arrangements and now we're back at MCCM in Scarborough noon Monday, getting anti-nausea meds and hydration.  We spoke with oncologist Julie, and she wants to prescribe an anti-nausea med to replace the compazine.  It will be Phenergan (promethazine),  Yes, it rings a bell.  Keep you're fingers crossed.

Hydration appointments have been made for every morning this week with the exception of Friday when we go to MMC for hernia repair surgery.

More later friends.  Pray for the best for Anne.  It really helps.  Thanks for being there. 

Mornin everyone,
It's Sunday and we found our way, as planned, back to Maine Med for some hydration for Anne.  We'd hope she'll not need it soon, maybe tomorrow will be the day. 


Yesterday on the way home from MMC Anne was hungry so we stopped to eat.  She ordered a cobb salad (half sized) and enjoyed some of it.  In minutes afterwards when the car rolled she was in pain.  It wasn't a good ride, and once situated at home she was still miserable  and remained so all afternoon and evening, all the while trying find the right mix of meds.  She slept most of last evening until she went off to bed.  At one point we had an emotional release together.  A long time coming and much needed. 

She had a so-so night but got up at 3am with nausea, so we got her moved to the living room. She used all of her nausea meds at that time, then later at 6am one Compazine, and one Zofran at 7:30. 

Anne had a couple of things to eat this morning, a banana at home, then a couple nab crackers in the car on the way in.  They didn't bother her too much.  On leaving the house for Portland, she took an Ativan for the ride.  Also this morning, we washed her hair, then she changed up and got ready to leave before I did. All good.....

When they hooked up the bags this mornin we reminded the RN that something apparently made Anne sick yesterday immediately after it started.  We questioned the use of the Decadrone/Zofran mix.  Anne uses Zofran all the time, but I can't recall her using any Decadrone.  I asked that they don't use any Decadrone today, and the RN complied.  Subsequently, Anne hasn't been sick with the medicines today.  We keep learning and asking questions, and get lucky once in awhile I guess.

Anne slept comfortably with hydration flowing till noon as I read the sports page.  On waking up, she said she was hungry and asked for some creamy soup, or something.  I found some cream of broccoli and she enjoyed a little, but then became sick and as a result has taken one of her pain pills.  We wonder if it's the hernia causing this pain with eating, and hope the surgery this coming Friday will afford relief for this on-going problem.

Shortly now we'll be heading home.  I hope for a good ride home for Anne.  She'd like to watch the Pats today, as usual.  We're planning to fix a game hen today, but I don't know how much eating she'll be able to do.  We pray that after Friday she'll be able to satisy her appetite with no pain.

OK, Hi everyone,
Saturday, 11:30am and Anne is comfortable being hydrated at MMC, in the ol' Gibson Pavillion.  When they first hooked her up she felt sick, but she got past that.  It's a nice facility we are familiar with from 2 years back.  We're high over Portland on a sunny day with a beautiful view.  I wish Anne was more in the mood to take it in and enjoy it.  Some other time.... 

Last night Anne really enjoyed the Holiday Celebration put on by her peers at the Town Hall.  Lot's of folks did alot of work to make that happen and it was a real good time.  Anne didn't make it to the end.  We rushed out early after the meal.  She wasn't feeling well but she attended, she was proud to have made it, and I'm glad she did. It was time well spent.  I'm sure she felt alot of love all around her. Thanks to Tom for helping us get to the car on the way out.  What a gentleman!

On the way home, again last night, she was awful sick for the ride.  Then it was a long walk from the driveway to her living room chair.  Got her calmed down with the TV on, then she woke at 10pm, doing pretty well.  I let her go into bed by herself.  It was a big deal.  Before, while the chemo was running she couldn't even walk from the living room to the bedroom, so she was better than that now, and felt accomplished I'm sure. 

Ten minutes later I checked on her and she was on the edge of the bed, doubled over, struggling in pain again.  It seemed she took her nightly meds as usual and began to suffer.  She enjoyed the food at the event earlier, said she didn't eat very much, but that may be taking it's toll on her now.  It's hard to tell.  Drugs finally calmed her down so she could sleep.

No matter how poorly she felt, I'm sure that Anne completed her nightly bedtime ritual with Beasley, our cat.  It involves treats, shaking both right and left paws over and over on command, and giving high fives to each other.  It's a real fun show.  Anne is truly amazing when it comes to raising and relating to our pets.  She trained them, they're an important part of her life, and their routines are serious business in this house, so as for them being well behaved.  I've learned alot from her. Incredible stuff.

We were up twice overnight, 2am and 5am.  She needed meds both times.  I've been afraid and cautious with the Ativan because of the warnings that it is dangerously habit forming.  However, we've learned here from the RN this morning that her pills are of a low dose, .5mg, and that 2 pills could be taken together on the schedule on the jar.  It does say 'take 1' tho, darnit.  Duh, it really pays to ask alot of questions, and to use the drugs appropriately to manage her pain.  We keep learning.

You guessed it, she was uncomfortable at home after waking up this morning (Sat.), and it was so for an hour or more till we left to come here to MMC for the 10:30 hydration appointment.  Once here they administered Zofran and decadron for anti-nausea, then the 2 hour dose of sodium chloride was started.  It's the big bag of fluid that Anne sometimes refers to as 'a lobster roll', or 'steak and potatoes'.  Gotta keep you're sense of humor.

She began to squirm and fuss in pain right after the infusion started, so I reported it.  Anne stated that the Ativan is the only thing that really helps.  This is when the RN explained that it's ok to use 2 of them.  We took another one (one was taken in the car on the way in), and soon the frown turned to a bit of a low stress smile.  Now she is in dreamland.  I pray she'll continue t improve this weekend, and have a good week ahead. 

Remember, on Friday she has another surgery (arthroscopic (sp??))scheduled to fix the incisional hernia.  She'll get thru it, but it's hard to look forward to the next 2 months with chemo happening every 2 weeks, perhaps making making her 'pay' for 4-5 days each time.  Doesn't seem fair that she 'pays the price' when she eats too.  This is the 'battle' everyone talks about, she knows it, and she's super strong and courageous.  Lord forbid she tries to take too much without complaining.  That's not one of her strengths.  I pray she speaks up every time she needs to.

I hear her snoring now, her face is relaxed, a good thing.

More later, all out love to you all.

Anne made it to the event at the town hall.  We couldn't stay till the end.  It was good fun for her to see everybody.  And, lots of folks worked hard to put on a great event.

It was a very tough night, and we'll be heading in for hydration treatment in about an hour now.  Anne isn't feeling well.

Pray for her strength and courage, and that she will begin to feel better soon now that the chemo is not running.  We'll write more later this morning.

2nd and 3rd day with the chemo pump

Even though they took great care of Anne at MCCM yesterday afternoon they couldn't help her on the way home. She began to feel sick during the ride. She did have an OK evening tho, and she enjoyed watching some TV.

Last night overnight was a better night for both of us. Me, I didn't wake up once. She did wake up sick tho and moved to the living room recliner in the middle of the night. She was sleeping there when I got up at 6am.

She woke up in pretty good shape today, looking good, and there was no stress in her face. She wasn't interested in eating very early, but when she got hungry I made what she wanted, a scrambler and a piece of toast. She enjoyed that but shortly thereafter she was miserable and was having dry heaves.  We called MCCM to let them know we wanted to come in right away for hydration. They said they had no seats available, but they could take us a few minutes earlier than our scheduled appointment at 11:40.

We got there at 11:15 and they took her right in. You know the routine, anti-nausea meds (Ativan) followed by a 2 hours of sodium chloride. She's resting now with eyes closed, good color and no stress in her face. That's good considering a few minutes ago her smile was completely upside down.  Before we finished she bacame pretty sick.  With that, these folks have scheduled appointments for her to get hydration at 10:30 on both Saturday and Sunday mornings.  We'll go to Maine Medical Center, the Gibson Pavillion for this.  Scarborough MCCM chemo room will be closed on the weekend.  Let's hope Anne feels wall enough going forward so she won't need to use either of these weekend appointments.  Would be nice to have a break from going in to town.

Anne and me were invited to a holiday function with her co-workers and friends at the Town Hall tonight at 6pm. It's a murder mystery dinner.  She really wants to go. Time will tell.  I'm betting she'll make an appearance for a little while.  She has her heart set on it.

Thanks to all of you for being there, for your continued prayers, and for keeping up with us.    We know you're there and it means so much.

Aside from all that, want to let you know we realize the blog can seem very impersonal, and sometimes a real hassle for those with a telephone or slow PC. It's a life saver for us tho, in terms of making the latest information available to all of you. If it is difficult for you to use, know that we're grateful that you continue to read. If you can, get your hands on a relatively new laptop and you should have no problems. For example, my Toshiba is 3 years old and when I open the blog all the pictures load in 5-10 seconds. I can then drag the scroll bar, and blast right past all the pictures to the latest post. I'm still trying to find a way to move the pictures down below the postings to make it easier for everyone to use, but it is not looking good.  I've updated to the latest version of IE and updated to the latest blogger interface, but still cannot do this.

First night with the chemo pump

Hi all,
It hasn't been easy getting re-acquainted with this chemo-therapy (poison) again. Anne didn't have much fun last evening or over night, up several times and ill. This morning she fought it as hard as she could, but was just miserable. Mid morning we called MCCM (Maine Center for Cancer Medicine) and they suggested we get in there for 1pm for hydration and anti-nausea meds. Anne is trying to 'put the fluids' to herself, but it's hard. This is like deja vu, it's coming back to me now, the sickness and need for hydration thru the IV port.

We headed into Scarboro, parked at MCCM and started walking in. Anne walked very very slowly clutching my sleeve and struggling. Then she grabbed me and we stopped before being rescued by a kind person who ran for a wheelchair.

They immediately got her situated in the chemo room and the anti-nausea meds, then the sodium choloride for hydration, were flowing. She quickly appeared ok, so I ran to the car to pick up this laptop. When I got back she was doubled over and ill.

They switched her over to some Ativan (lorazepam), a relaxer mixed with another anti-nausea med, and when that was done it was back to the hydration (sodium chloride). It will flow for 2 hours. They have been right there with her since she sat down in the chemo room, and very responsive to her needs.

This is so hard for her but she fights it with all she has. If she crys I know something is drastically wrong. She did and it scared me.

Now her eyes are closed, in fact she's asleep, and her color is back in her face.

They said that in 2 weeks when she comes back for her second treatment, they'll give her a booster of some 'super duper' anti-nausea stuff, along with the chemo. They say it will cover her for the 2 days of having the pump running at home. Let's hope so. Can you imagine having to use all these drugs and trying to get better.

From 2 years ago I remember rushing her to town, sick and needing hydration, over and over. Poor kid hasn't had much of anything to eat since Monday, trying yogurt and chicken/rice soup starting Wednesday, neither working out that well.

We hope for a better night tonight, and look forward to having the pump disconnected tomorrow.

The battle is under way.

PS. For curious minds, the chemo drugs being used are as follows: A mix of Oxaliplatin (aka Eloxatin) and Leucovorin (aka Citrovorum Factor) for 2 hours (at MCCM) once every 2 weeks, followed by 48 straight hours of Fluorouracil (aka 5-FU) using a portable chemo pump.

Back to Grand Central (chemo) Station

Hello all,

At 9am today we left home to return to Maine Center for Cancer Medicine, Sarborouth to start Anne's chemo treatments. It was a challenge to make the 9:45am appointment this morning. Anne was dragging a bit what with the past 2 days at Maine Med and all that she accomplished there, but we got to the parking lot here on time and got a handicapped parking slot in front of the door.

We learned we'll be having 2 hours of chemo while were here, and when we leave Anne will have a chemo pump attached and working for the next 48 hours. On Friday we return, just to have that disconnected. That'll be the routine every 2 weeks for the next 2 months. Then they'll evaluate the progress of the treatment by comparing a CT to the one taken on 10/20. If necessary, the treatments can then be altered or continued for up to 6 months.

When we first set down, they administered anti-nausea drugs, followed by steroids which facilitate the anti-nausea meds. Then the chemo was 'hung' and it will flow for 2 hours. We'll leave then with plumbing attached.

Anne didn't eat sunday night or Monday. Since Tuesday night she has been OK'd to eat soft things, chicken noodle soup, yogurt, cooked cereal, etc. With that she's had very little, but some, stomach pain after eating, nothing like it's been for the past 18 months. We're wondering just how long the bile duct had been clogged, regardless it is clear now and it's a good thing.

Dr. Wu installs Anne's medi-port

Hi everyone,
Anne has been doing very well today. They had her spend the night last night because of the rigorous surgery done on her insides yesterday. Dr. Howell stated again this morning how much work they had done, and how tricky it was to clear her bile duct. He reiterated that it was however, FIXED. I told him we didn't want him getting bored, and Anne said she came to him so to make his life interesting. He is a fantastic doctor.

At 11am today Anne was taken to surgery with Dr. Wu to install the medi-port. She was cheerful when she left the room. Dr. Wu called me while I was in the cafeteria at 12:15. She said Anne did well, and is in recovery for an hour or so more. She expects it all went very well and that Anne will get to go home later today.

We learned that the medi-port will be used as early as tomorrow, so that's a positive takeaway. No IV's will be done to Anne for awhile.

Thanks everybody for reading and for your messages. They help so much. I read all of them to Anne and they are a blessing.

Pray for miracles as Anne fights one day at a time, to put out "one fire at a time".

Successful ERCP Today !!@@!!

This morning Dr. Howell successfully cleared Anne's clogged bile duct. He told me it was a difficult challenge. It took 1 1/2 hours longer than the usual. He told me it would make her feel better. Our prayers were answered this morning. We knew we had found the right man for the job.

Anne will spend the night here, and tomorrow morning have surgery to install the medi-port.

Hi, It's late 2011 and we're back to blogging

Hello readers,

It's been awhile so lets see if we remember how to update this blog. We haven't done this since our whirlwind USA tour this past winter. Unfortunately we're here updating this to let you know that Anne's cancer has returned. It is called recurring esophageal cancer. This girl has no esophagus anymore, as you know, but that's what they call it. The oncologist says the cancer was undetectible last May, apparently it layed dormant, now it has come alive in two small spots in Anne's chest. We are encouraged that there is treatment. New chemo-therapy drugs that we're not available a year ago. Please pray that Anne responds well.

Back in September Anne began to experience shortness of breath. She told me in mid-October. We saw our PCP, Pamela Courtney, and Anne described the problem as a feeling of having a 'belt round my chest'. A catscan was done 10/20 which showed a 'shadow' in her chest and a blockage in the bile duct in her tummy.

Dr. Stern performed an ERCP at Mercy Hospital in Sept/2011 to try and dredge out the blockage in the bile duct. He was not successful because he 'couldn't find the door'. As you know the furniture in Anne's chest and stomach has been re-arranged. Anyway, he didn't get the job done.

At end September Anne found she had an 'incisional' hernia bothering her. It's located at the top of her tummy, on the incision where the esophagectomy was performed. We have seen Dr. Dougald MacGillivray who is scheduled to fix the hernia on 12/09/2011.

Meanwhile we are at Maine Medical today with Dr. Howell (the best around) who is performing another ERCP at this very moment, 11/28, to solve the problem in the bile duct.

Anne decided she wanted to see her Cardiologist, Dr. Carl Sze, in late October. She felt her symptoms were similar to last year when she had troubles with fluid around her heart following the esophagectomy. Over time he performed several tests (echo, chemical and resting stress tests, etc.) and determined, in Anne's words, that she has "heart like bull". He gave his blessing to Anne having hernia surgery in December. It was good news to hear that Anne's heart is especially strong.

On Nov 10, 2011, Thursday, Dr. Milspaugh was called on to perform an EUS (electronic? ultra sound), to examine and do a biopsy of the 'shadow' found on 10/20. This day he informed us he found cancer in a lympthnode next to Anne's heart. To me it felt as if a dark could had come over head. No matter how terrifying, Anne remains strong, determined to "put out one fire at a time". I don't know how she does it. It's a special quality she has, but I pray it rubs off on me so I never do anything other than encourage her.

We called our Encologist, Dr. Kurt Ebrahim right away when we got home Thursday night, and were able to have a petscan scheduled the following Weds., 11/16, and a visit with him on Friday, 11/18. He reviewed the petscan with us in detail and showed us 2 spots of cancer in Anne's chest. (He gave us the good news that there is no cancer in Anne's bile duct)!! He said the spots would cause shortness of breath because one of them is swollen next to Anne's windpipe. The other, as I said, is next to her heart. He said there would be no radiation treatment this time, and no surgery, however, there are new cancer drugs that we'll treat this with, beginning Nov 30. He will examine the cancer to determine whether there is a certain kind of protien in it, then he'll prescribe the appropriate chemo-therapy, "cocktail" as they call it. He states there is no cure, but we'll work together to 'manage' the disease and prolong Anne's life. Dr. Ebrahim has never 'pulled any punches". Your prayers are very helpful and we know that the Good Lord is in control and will intervene. Everything is possible.

Today is Nov 28. I'm back blogging from the waiting room. Anne will soon be out of the ERCP procedure with Dr. Howell. He told us she must spend the night here tonight. We didn't expect that. Believe it or not, Anne is due here at 9am tomorrow to have surgery with Dr. Wu to have a medi-port installed in her chest. This is needed to facilitate chemo-therapy treatments (as well as any other needed IV's). Chemo starts day after tomorrow. I don't know how she does it.... Another bump in the road that Anne will bravely travel.

Through all of this Anne has never utterred the words 'Why me?', never once. She's an amazing person, determined to fight and live. I believe there's no doubt she will out live any forecast. Comically, she lifted her leg in Dr. Ebrahim's office and asked him, "Do you see any expiration date on the bottom of my foot?" She keeps her sence of humor and strong will. Prayer warriors are much needed, that's you,,, especially this week and the coming 1-2 months.

Thanks for being there and thanks for you're continued prayers as we fight "one fire at a time." Most important for the moment, pray for success today and for Anne to feel well.

Byron, NY ( and side trip to Niagara Falls)

Today we traveled as planned from Port Huron, MI , across Ontario, thru Niagara Falls, and on to Byron, NY. We used Canadian Hwy’s 402, 401, 403, Lincoln M. Alexander Parkway, QEW, 406 and US Hwy’s 104, 98, and 262. It was a 255 mile drive. We passed thru Paris, London, and Niagara Falls all in one day, the same day the Royal Wedding was happening. Now we’ll stay 2 nights in Bryon at the Southwoods RV Resort.

The trips thru International borders today were like the last time. Good going into Canada, and bad coming back into the US.

Going into Canada first thing this morning a young woman, Customs Official, had a conversation with us after crossing the Blue Waters Bridge in Port Huron. She quickly said, “Go ahead and have a nice day.”

Getting into the US at the Lewiston, NY border crossing there was a delay in traffic of over an hour. Then, once we made it up to the gate, the US Customs Official questioned us and took the time to go thru our RV. Shortly thereafter he let us proceed thru. We didn’t have any of our produce or dog food confiscated this time.

The highways thru Ontario were very good compared to those in the western Canadian provinces. It sprinkled all along the way. Most of the sites we saw today were of farmland and golf courses, except for Niagara Falls, read on. Oddly enough we passed two places along the highways today where we saw men practice driving Trotter horses like those you’d see at Scarborough Downs. I got a blurry picture.

Anne drove most of the Canadian portion of the ride today, about 175 miles worth of it. I had to pull her off of the steering wheel today. I did that when we exited the highway and had our lunch. I don't remember where we were but it was somewhere along the QEW highway, somewhere between Hamilton and St. Catharines, Ontario.

We witnessed the wind storm devastation that happened here yesterday near St. Catharine off of Lake Ontario. Huge trees were blown down or snapped, some caused damage to houses and power lines. Most of the problems were seen after we entered the US and followed Hwy 104 from Niagara Falls to Byron, NY.

After crossing the border into the US I exited the highway and scooted maybe 5 miles over to Niagara Falls. We parked on a city street and I got out to walk over to see the ‘Falls’. Last time I saw them we stayed on the Canadian side. That’s definitely the better view but I don‘t remember getting as close to the Falls as I did today.

Our engine light came on today as we sat in the traffic jam at ‘Customs’ coming into the US. We'll try to have this checked out tomorrow. Maybe we’ll be lucky and the light will go out over night tonight.

The owners at Southwood’s RV Resort, Sue and Mike, had been great to us on the phone up until now, and even nicer now that we’re here. As we got set up Mike stopped over and introduced himself. Then he asked me if our unit was wired for Cable TV. When I said ’yes‘, he offered to hook us up with a long cable running over from the next site. He said he has just made a deal with Time Warner Cable for the Resort, but they don’t have all the wiring done yet. So, that’s a nice fringe benefit and a nice thing for him to do. The internet signal works great here too.

Now I'll try to add some pictures to this blog.

We'll leave here tomorrow, Sunday, May 1. We’re planning to go to Johnstown, NY to stay at Royal Mountain Campsite.

Port Huron, MI

Today Anne and I drove 171 miles from Harrison, MI to Port Huron, MI. We left at 10:15am and arrived at the Port Huron Township RV Park at 3:30pm. Anne had packed the cooler for the ride, including a nice lunch which we enjoyed along the way. No different than any other travel day the past 4 months. She is something special !!

We passed thru Saginaw and Flint Michigan today. We also passed thru a lot of flooded land. Some roads were closed and we had to adapt and re-route one time. Anne was prepared for that from watching the news this morning. I’m not kidding ya, I don't know what's next. When we set up in Harrison there were tornado warnings all over the area that night, then yesterday and today it has been flood warnings all around this area. Holy cow !

We filled with fuel about 33 miles outside of Port Huron expecting that this ‘gateway to Canada’ would be a fuel trap. The price was $4.11/gal outside town, good relative to what the cost has been lately. Once in Port Huron we toured around town to see the city. After that, ready to retire to the campground, we filled our tank with fuel again. We needed to ‘top it off’ before taking the 255 mile trek across Canada to Buffalo tomorrow. The cost of fuel in Port Huron was up, $4.28/gal. Hurray for us, we beat the system !!

Port Huron is an old place but the city is taking a lot of pride in modernizing itself, especially along the waterfront. It’s called the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway and it runs between Lake Huron and Anchor Bay. Anchor Bay is slightly north of Detroit, and across from there is Lake St. Clair. Lake St. Clair is at Winsor, Ontario, Canada. With a little imagination, Anchor Bay and Lake St. Clair are the same body of water shared by the 2 countries.

There is big double bridge crossing between USA and Canada here. It is named Blue Water Bridge, A.K.A the Bridge to Canada. When we were at the waterfront park in town today we took some pictures of the bridge etc., and sure enough, the water is a very nice bright blue in color. It also has a tremendous amount of current in it. It reminds me a lot of the Cape Cod Canal.

This night at the Port Huron Township RV Park we never disconnected our truck from the RV. We have a nice level, solid, dry site. We have water and electric hooked up. We don’t need sewer hook-up tonight. We don’t have an internet connection here so I’ll write, and save this blog entry on the word processor on my laptop. With any luck we'll have internet connectivity tomorrow night and I can paste this into the blog then

We’ll get up in the morning and drive from here thru Canada to Niagra Falls, NY.

Note: As we drove thru Michigan today the grass became very green. YEAH !!