On the Road Again!

Somehow we got all our stuff jammed into our car for the trip back to Atlanta.  I gave the hotel maid the food we had left over, cleaning stuff, paper goods, bottled water, candles, extra scissors, the bright orange towels. She was very appreciative and I hugged her good-bye.

We had to stop by MDACC at 10AM to put up the CD's and reports of the X-Rays, PET and CT Scans since July 2010. Joe dropped me off at the front door so I could run up to the 3rd floor and pick them up as he drove around the block waiting for me to show back up front. I picked up the brown envelop, got a USA Today and Diet Coke and headed out to the pick up area just as Joe was driving back up. We were on the road to home at 11AM!

Joe drove the first 2 hours till we stopped for a gourmet lunch at La Wendy's somewhere in Louisiana off of Interstate 10. I took over the next two hours of driving with only one unexpected stop when Max was whining and barking in the back seat. I pulled off an exit to nowhere and looked for whatever he needed. In one of the bags he could see his toy rubber chicken's head and he wanted Charlie, the chicken. I also gave Max some ice cubes in case it was because he was thirsty. It solved the issue 100%, It was the first time ever that Max made a son in the car so I knew to handle it right away.

Back onto Interstate 10 I drove. It is so flat. One very interesting experience was between Lafayette and Baton Rouge driving over the Bayou. The bridge over it was an amazing 18 miles long with lots of big birds, water, swamps. One could see the mud on bridge pilings and see how high the water can get. It is mind boggling to imagine the area covered with miles and miles of high water. I could imagine the alligators and bugs down there. Fishing must be incredible I would think. God forbid if one would crash their car and go over the concrete railings into the bayou. In the beginning of the bayou I loved looking out into the swamps and see the trunks of the Cypress trees jutting out of the water with green grasslands which reminded me a bit of Africa.

My two hours were over and my gauge on the car said I had 20 miles left of gas in the car. We still had 94 miles to get to our hotel off of  Interstate 10 in Biloxi. Joe filled the car with gas as I ran to the restroom and took Max for a short walk. Joe also used the restroom but it took him longer since he had to wait till two truckers finished their showers. Oh my! I found that funny.

Joe drove the rest of the way to our Biloxi destination which is halfway home! How wonderful to be able to write that. We got to the La Quinta Inn at 5:45PM thus we made great time on the road from Houston to Biloxi.  A special note to my sister, Dolores! No, I was not driving like Mario Andretti! I did not once go over 80 miles an hour. It did help that there were lots of Highway State Patrol in Louisiana looking to a victim. They found plenty.

Check in went fine but the first door magnetic keys did not work. I am sure nearly everyone has experienced that. I went back down to the lobby on the first floor and the clerk redid the keys. Presto, they worked! Max was happy and I gave him a big bowl of water before Joe and I headed across the parking lot to Applebees. The service and food was good. It was good to get back to our room at 7PM where all we had to do was relax and watch TV. The only good show on TC tonight is "The Good Wife." I even got Joe to watch it and he enjoyed it. The acting and plot lines are great.

Now Max is laying next to me in Joe's spot on the comfortable bed and Joe is curled up in a chair with a blanket looking at ease, He still has that nasty cough but I believe the cough sounds a bit less congested today. He says he feels OK and enjoyed the drive with no bad weather the entire way.

Oh, as Joe drove his second leg into Mississippi, I read him the reports on the X-Rays and CT Scans. It was good news with a significant shrinkage of the lymphoma tumors from 2.7 centimeters down to  9mm which was the largest one. The spleen decreased in size significantly. The chemo is working. It was good reading the reports and understanding all the medical lingo. We were both happy and that we pray it continues so Joe will have more days on this earth.

How cool it will be tomorrow that when we get back in the car, we know that at the end of the day's journey, we will be home.

Ciao!