The Vacation That Wasn't

You know what they say about the best laid plans of mice and men . . . well it’s true, they sometimes DO go astray.

Stewart and I planned a two to three-week vacation to get out of the house, see sights and visit friends.

The Plan. Drive the back roads through North Carolina and if we saw something we wanted to stop and explore, do it. Then go into South Carolina and tour Fort Sumter and Charleston for pleasure and to do research for my current book in progress about the Civil War.

Then on down to Savannah, Georgia where I’ve never been. Then into Jacksonville, Florida and beyond to visit friends of mine, and to St. Augustine. From there, we planned on driving across the panhandle west and into New Orleans. I’ve never been to New Orleans and wanted to experience it and Stewart wanted to revisit the food that he remembered so fondly. From New Orleans we were going to head due north to Eureka Springs, Arkansas to see the statue, Christ of the Ozarks, then due east to Atlanta, Georgia to visit with his nephew before heading home. A considerable undertaking for two octogenarians!

The Actual Vacation. We left Wednesday, the 14^th, drove to Georgetown, South Carolina and spent the night at Econolodge, having seen and done nothing. Thursday we went to Mt. Pleasant, SC and spent the night at Quality Inn, again, having seen and done nothing. Friday, we learned we couldn’t go to Fort Sumter because as we were told, “Depending on the tides, it could be difficult for Stewart to get onto the ferry with his walker and once he got to the fort, there are stairs going up to the museum.” Since the trip took three and a half hours, it wasn’t as though he could say, “I’ll wait here while you go check it out.” So instead, we went to the Naval Museum on Patriot’s Point. There he waited in the car while I checked out the gift shop and bought a book about Fort Sumter, which is the closest I got to it. The museum consisted of two ships docked close by: the aircraft carrier USS Yorktown and the destroyer USS Laffey. Stewart was exhausted by trying to walk to the gift shop, so exploring a ship ­­­­­­­­­­ was out of the question. Besides, being a Navy guy, he knew what a ship looked like. That night we stayed at the Quality Inn again. Three days into our trip and our big event so far was going to the gift shop!

Saturday morning he had trouble breathing after the least bit  of exertion, even walking across the room. We drove the ten minutes into Charleston and enjoyed the architecture of the town. We parked at the sea wall and got a good look at historic Charleston Harbor. Still didn’t see Fort Sumter, though, even by scanning the harbor. 

A short drive took us to where we arranged for a mule and carriage tour of the city. The mules were sisters named Rhyme and Reason. That tour was the highlight of our trip. It lasted an hour and gave us a good insight into the old city. We saw many stately homes with gas lights on the sides of the front doors, and LOTS of wrought iron railings. Really really beautiful. 

Back in the car, we headed south as far as Walterboro, SC. And spent the night at Comfort Inn Suites. 

Sunday morning, Stewart was having such trouble breathing, even with his portable oxygen device, that I gave him an ultimatum—we start for home or you go to the hospital. He chose the hospital so the next three and a half hours were spent in ER where he was treated for a COPD flare up. It seems that the fifty foot of tubing we brought so he could easily move around a hotel room, is way too long for the Inogen oxygen concentrator. At home, it works well with the large oxygen generator, but it doesn’t work with the smaller machine. I let our children know he was in the hospital and immediately Cyndi and Bill made plans to drive down and get us. It had taken us four days to get to where we were, so I couldn’t see them spending time on the road to come for us. Until, that is, Cyndi said they were only three and a half hours away by taking I-95. I couldn’t believe that what we did in four days they could do in under four hours! I was so exhausted from lifting luggage and his walkers in and out of the car and into and out of hotels, that I said, "Come get us."

They drove our truck down and Bill and Stewart drove home in the truck while Cyndi and I drove back in my Prius. The next day we relaxed and recuperated and realized we had bitten off way more than we could chew. The only sight we saw on the four-day trip was two hours in the beautiful city of Charleston. And oh yes, a gift shop.

The Lesson Learned. Take trips in small doses and don’t expect the Inogen to work well with fifty feet of tubing! It was like trying to siphon gas out of a car with a fifty foot hose instead of a six foot hose. It was no wonder he didn’t have enough air in his lungs.

Now we’re planning on buying a scooter for Stewart so he can get around much easier AND be able to carry some of the luggage. Our next trip should be a breeze! 😊

Quote of the Day: I haven’t been everywhere, but it’s on my list. Susan Sontag.