Back to Enjoying Towerpoint RV Resort...

We have settled into our RV site in Mesa, Arizona. We are currently at Towerpoint RV Resort, a place we have stayed many times in the past. This will be our winter home until April 1, 2026, and will be one of our longest stays we've ever had while traveling as full-timers. However, this is a good location for us while I recover from my knee surgery. 

As for an update on my knee surgery, I am doing much better. It has been 7 weeks post-surgery and I'm finally starting to sleep better. I've heard that many have a hard time sleeping for up to 12 weeks or longer, so I'm glad that I am finally starting to sleep better. I'm also able to get around better and we have even gone for a few one-mile walks around the Gilbert Riparian Preserve. My flexibility and range of motion are improving drastically, and I feel i am back to near normal. With more healing I will be able to once again ride a bike and take some longer hikes in the desert.

We have also been enjoying the resort life as the live music started back up mid-October. So, we are getting back into the swing of things by heading out to one of the five Cal-Am RV Parks in our immediate area to listen to our favorite bands. And of course, Sharon has been happily back dancing to the music.

We have also been taking advantage of the fitness centers at Towerpoint and Mesa Regal  Sharon has continued to work out at what I consider to be extreme levels while I use the gym to try to recover my strength and stamina from the knee surgery. 

Sharon also celebrated a big birthday as she has now become a septuagenarian. Friends here at TowerPoint took us out to a fun restaurant called Vito's to celebrate her big 70th birthday. Thanks to Larry and Tammy for a great evening out and for celebrating Sharon's birthday with us.

The RV Park is still pretty empty because it's October and well before the peak snow-bird season which doesn't actually occur till January first. However, those who own park models will start filtering in around the 1st of November and we have already noticed a few people starting to trickle in now. 

It won't be long in this place will get very lively...

Time to head back to Mesa AZ after knee surgery

 

Our lengthy stay in Raleigh, North Carolina has finally come to a close. It has been nearly 5 weeks after my total knee replacement surgery and was the time I pinpointed to return to Arizona.

It sure has been fun experiencing daily life with the grandchildren. Being at their home interacting with made us able to really know them. Applications like FaceTime are wonderful, but there is no time like real face time with these two gems!  A lot of memories were made.

An update on the status of my knee is that things are progressing rather well. The surgical site is healed but it will take many more months for the internal structures of the knee to heal. I can now walk without an assisted device and I can go up and down stairs. 

Life is a lot more normal for me now except for the fact that I can't sleep through the night still. I was informed by the doctor that this could last up to 6 months. Gawd I sure hope not! 

Wednesday October 15th rolled around and we woke up early in the morning to catch our flight leaving Raleigh at 7:05 a.m. That would put us into Phoenix at 8:25 a.m. 

Fortunately, our flight was uneventful despite the fact that the government shutdown is continuing and affecting some airports with lots of flight delays. We landed a little early and an hour later we were on our way back to our RV after a friend of ours picked us up at the airport. 

We are now back in Mesa, Arizona where we will stay till April 1st. This will be a really lengthy stay. I still have some healing to do so this was a good idea for us at this time. We look forward to seeing some live music on the patios of the various resorts. I am looking forward to becoming fully healed and getting back to our normal lives.

Groundhog Day

 t's Groundhog Day, or at least that's how I feel. It's now been 15 days since my surgery for total knee replacement on the right knee and although it's getting better, it appears it's going to be a long haul.

Every day is a repeat of the day before. The movie Groundhog Day is now my life. My routine is simple. I go to bed around 10:00 pm and sleep for a solid hour to 3 hours. Then I toss and turn in bed until I finally give up anywhere from 3:00 to 5:30 a.m. This results in about 2 1/2 to 4 1/2 hours of sleep per night which sucks. 

Around 4:30 - 5:00 a.m. I'll turn on the coffee and read my laptop or phone for an hour or two until the grandkids wake up to get ready for school. By 7:10 they're out of the house for daycare drop-off then Mom and Dad head off to work. 

Next I'll have breakfast and lounge around for several hours. Either lying on the couch or reclining in a recliner keeping my leg mostly elevated. About 11:00 a.m. when Sharon goes for a walk I do a PT session or I try a short walk with her and the grand-dog Benny. 

Next comes lunch, couple more hours of lounging, and then another PT session. A few more hours of lounging after PT while icing my knee and then the next thing you know it's time for the kids to come back from school. Mom and Dad return, and we all have a little fun time with the kids before they have to go to bed. 

While the kids are playing one or two of us are prepping dinner, usually not me as I'm just lounging. The kids eat dinner first and are then scooted upstairs for their final play time before bath time and ultimately their bedtime. 

After the kids are put to bed and sound asleep, the adults dine together, the TV comes on and we have a little conversation. Next thing you know it's time for me to go to bed again and start the whole process over, and over, and over again... A seemingly endless cycle of days as I hope to regain full function of my right leg. 

But yes I am getting incrementally better day by day. And of course, I know over time it will all heal but the trials and tribulations of Groundhog Day are tiring. I sure can't wait to get back to a more normal life. 

And in order to give me a time frame for when Groundhog Day might end, I booked our flights back to Arizona on October 15th. That will be 5 weeks post-surgery and long enough away that I should be well enough to amble about the motorhome without damaging myself. I am looking forward to our return to our more normal lives even though I've been enjoying the grandkids and family time here in North Carolina.

The time has come...

Well, my long wait is over, and the time came for my full knee replacement surgery scheduled for September 10th. We woke up early for the drive over to Duke Med and

 got all checked in. I sat down and within a few minutes I was called in by a nurse. She took my vitals and then took me to my pre-surgical room where I got into my lovely hospital gown. 

Next, I was hooked up to several machines and given an IV. While waiting for the doctor I got to know the nurse who was in charge of me really well. I met the doctor once again who was performing my surgery as well as the attending fellow. Also swinging by to meet me was the anesthesiologist who would ensure I felt no pain, at least for now. 

Before I knew it they were giving me a spinal block and that is about the last thing I recall before waking back in post-surgery recovery. 

Surgery took a total of only 55 minutes.  2 hours was scheduled and I'm sure glad they didn't need all 2 hours of it. In recovery I was a bit groggy but totally aware of my surroundings.  I was also aware of the long road ahead of me. 

Once home I realized how tough this was going to be especially with all the inactivity I must endure. I started my pain regimen to stay ahead of the pain and on day 2 (post-surgery) my PT (daughter Katie) took off my ace bandage and exposed the bandage. All in all it looked okay no for the long road of healing.

And here I am about 6 days post-surgery. To say the last 6 days have been unpleasant would be an understatement. I am lucky if I sleep 2-4 hours a night, usually less. The pain hasn't been too horrible and I'm already off the oxycodone originally given for pain. It's mostly the lack of sleep, random nerve pain and the dull ache in my back from laying in the same position 24 hours a day.

I have started my PT which for me now means painful time and not physical therapy. I'm looking forward to getting the first two weeks out of the way as I understand that's the most challenging. 

I know I too will survive this challenge as many others who have had this procedure done before me.  From here on out it will be one day at a time as I begin day six today. I am fortunate that our daughter is a PT who assures me I am progressing normally and the whole family is trying to make life as comfortable as possible. I really look forward to getting back to my normal life and seeing my friends on the road of retirement sometime soon.

Made it to North Carolina

We moved the RV from Apache Wells RV Resort over to Towerpoint RV Resort and set up at our usual site. We would only spend one night at Towerpoint before our flight to Raleigh, North Carolina the next day. We left our keys with some great folks at the resort in case of emergency, so we felt so thankful for them! 

As morning broke, we contacted Uber for a ride to the airport. Amazingly we were able to pack all of our stuff into carry-ons, passed through security at American airlines with ease and waited at our gate for our flight. 

When boarding began we worried about being group 6 but thankfully were able to secure an overhead bin for our carry-ons. Sharon and I settled into aisle seats across from each other. Lucky for me no one sat in the middle seat, but Sharon wasn't as a lucky. 

Fortunately, the flight wasn't too bad. There was some turbulence during the flight, but the worst part was the landing. I'm not sure if this pilot's flown very much but it might have been the worst landing I've ever had as we hit very hard. But with that being the worst that happened, we were pretty pleased. 

After debarking, Sharon and I headed down to the departure area where our son in law, Brooks, picked us up within 5 minutes! (Thank goodness as it was already 11:00 p.m) We surely knew at that hour we would not see our daughter awake nor our grandchildren since they had work and school the next day. 

However, the next morning we had some time to spend with the grandkids and the granddog for the first time in awhile before they headed to school. And of course, after school we had much more fun with them. Likewise, we will have plenty of time to reacquaint and watch them grow up a little bit since we will be here for at least the next 6 to 8 weeks while I have my right knee surgically replaced. Stay tuned...

Back in Mesa AZ

Well, it looks like our fun in the mountains would end sooner than we hoped. We wanted to extend longer at Mund's Park RV Resort but were unable to. So, the time came to head down the mountains and into the furnace of the valley below. 

It would be a rather lengthy drive of 150 mi which was pretty much all downhill as we wound down the mountains to the valley where Phoenix lies below. Happily, it was yet another uneventful drive as we pulled into our next stop at Apache Wells RV Resort. 

We have arrived in Phoenix about 5 days earlier than planned because we were unable to secure reservations in other spots. So here we are in the greater Phoenix area in August. Not the time you want to be here with forecasted temperatures of over 110 F on the way. 

We came to Apache Wells to check it out and also because it was considerably cheaper than staying anywhere else in Mesa Arizona for shorter stays. Apache Wells RV Resort is another one of the Cal-Am parks found on the north end of Mesa. It is also the smallest of their parks. After staying a few days, we now know that this is not a park for us for a long-term stay. 

While here we did take advantage of their small fitness room and continued to try to make meals out of what we have left in our refrigerator and pantry that might be perishable as we get ready for our long stay in North Carolina. 

After our brief stay at Apache Wells RV resort, we moved a short distance over to our park where we will be for the winter. We have arrived early because we plan to leave the motorhome at Towerpoint RV Resort while taking advantage of their inexpensive fall special rates. 

We will fly out from Phoenix to Raleigh, North Carolina where we will stay with our daughter and son-in-law for the purpose of surgery on my right knee. Since our daughter is a physical therapist, we will stay there after surgery and let her take care of me before returning back to Towerpoint for the winter. So, get ready for lots of pictures of grandchildren! 

Munds Park RV Resort and Flagstaff AZ

With only staying one night at Homolovi  State Park we didn't even have to hook up the car the next morning before we hit the road.  Our next stop was only 84 miles in distance but up several thousand feet in elevation.

It wasn't too long before we pulled into Munds Park RV Resort. We have stayed here before so we asked for a site under the trees. The sites are very tight but people come for the location, not for large sites 

With the RV park being only 3 hours from Phoenix it's a very popular spot in the summer, especially with temperatures in the Phoenix valley reaching in the 110's this time of year. I tried to book a week but there's no way to book on short notice a weekend spot. During our stay the highs were in the upper '70s to low '80s with overnight lows in the '50s... perfect.

We decided to make the most of our time with lots of outdoors time. We played disc golf at the nearby Ft Tuthill course, about 15 minutes away. By dodging afternoon showers we were able to slip in a couple of rounds on two different days. 

 

We also took a couple of hikes at the Kachina Wetlands Preserve. It's nice walking there because of the beautiful views of the mountains just outside of Flagstaff. Also, this is a great birding site even in the summer. 

 

Of course, we had to drive into Flagstaff to check out Northern Arizona University. We returned to our favorite Flagstaff brewery called Lumberyard. Not only do they have a great happy hour but they have tasty IPAs and an excellent Porter. We were also intrigued with their very popular $10 mason jar drinks...maybe next time

Alas, before we knew it, time was up again. Unfortunately, that meant we're headed down the mountain and into the heat. We will arrive in Phoenix 5 days earlier than planned but fortunately for us the excess heatwave has diminished and thankfully we don't expect temperatures in the 110s.

Wish us luck...