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 14th,
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.
