On The Road Again

So, if you read the last post, you know we had a one-year break from our RV plans and are now back on the road again. Speaking of Willie Nelson, I almost rode my bike through Luckenbach, TX a few days ago but had to divert my route at the last minute with a change of plans - thought that would have been cool.  I mean is there anyone on this planet that does not have the words to that song in their head?  "Let's go to Luckenbach Texas, with Waylon and Willie and the boys...."

Anyhow, we hitched up the RV, loaded up the bike, and headed for the Mobile area (specifically Robertsdale) just to get moving again.  (We had planned to head to Branson, MO, but the weather forecast was for severe weather, lots of rain, and flooding, all of which proved to be correct). Shaun wanted to go but that will have to wait for another time.

We stayed 5 days at Styx River Resort in Robertsdale and really enjoyed it.  Styx River Resort is one of several Ocean Canyon properties in Alabama, Louisiana, Texas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Arkansas.

We went to the beach at Gulf Shores (of course), toured the Pensacola Naval Air Station museum, and I got a great bike ride in along the Emerald Coast from Gulf Shores to Ft. Walton beach and back. This shot was on the barrier island between Pensacola Beach and Ft. Walton Beach.  Part of it is a bird-nesting area which limits speeds to 25 mph which is probably a good thing since there was lots of sand on the road which can be very tricky for motorcycles.

And we need some airplane pictures in here.  The Pensacola Naval Air Station is the home of the Blue Angels.

And if we could have carried one of the display aircraft out of the museum, this was our first choice.  Pretty cool float plane for that early era of aviation, especially the wooden floats.  Hey, airplanes and water, a great combination.

Next stop - Port Arthur, TX.  We had stayed at the Port Arthur RV Resort a year ago and it's a convenient stop so why not again?  Went to church at First Baptist Nederland, toured Sea Rim State Park (nice walk on the beach) and timing was right for the annual Port Neches festival with tunnel boat races, a car show, a parade for Veterans, carnival rides, and lots of food.

Rhonda and I took a trip down memory lane when we spotted a 1964 Mustang in the car show.  When we met back in 1974, she had a 1965 3-speed 289 cu in V-8 (close to this same color) which was a positive attribute of hers along with so many others!  

She later traded it in for a Datsun B210 hatchback (close to the color below) before we got married. This may be the actual car in the picture, man it was ugly.  That of course was grounds for calling off the wedding, but after considering all the other attributes, we went ahead with the nuptuals and 40 years later are traveling around in an RV visiting the grandkids!  

Speaking of traveling around in an RV visiting the grandkids, we were very excited for our next stop, Austin, TX, to see Adam and the grandkids.  It had been a year since we visited last and Bryce just turned ten, Alexis is almost eight, and Connor is almost twelve.  They are growing up so fast and I will never tell them what their Granny did with her Mustang.

Their latest interest (including Adam's) is "bouldering" and we got to watch all of them in action with that. Adam and Connor are both successfully completing the more difficult climbs now.

Alexis and Bryce are doing well for their age also.

The grandkids spent Saturday night on the RV with us and got some swim time in at the Longhorn RV Resort pool.  Movie-time before bedtime was "Epic."

I got in for awhile also........

............. but eventually ended up in the much warmer hot-tub!  Yes, I understand that some sunshine is needed on those legs and should be included in our RV travel plans.

Earlier in the week while the grandkids were still in school, I took the opportunity to spend a couple of days on the number one motorcycle ride in TX, also rated in the top ten rides in the country - "Three Sisters" also nicknamed "Twisted Sisters."  It's about a 100-mile ride in the hill country of TX  west of Austin and San Antonio, comprised of ranch roads 335, 336, and 337. 

It was an awesome ride, actually not terribly difficult, but with beautiful scenery and enough challenge to definitely make it worth the trip.  But it can be dangerous and there are signs to warn you about that.

I had to ride about 150 miles just to get to the route, rode it twice (the view is different each way), and then back home.  If you do the math and add an extra 100 miles or so for chasing rabbits and sightseeing, that's around 600 miles and I do not have fun after about 350 at a time.  So, I rented a little cabin on the Rio Frio River in Leakey and overnighted.  Let's just say it was quaint, but nice, nothing to do there but shower and sleep, but that was what I needed.

Note the crystal clear water and some tubers on the river - too cold for me.

Back to the ride.  An interesting and new concept for me was the idea to just post a yellow gauge at low spots in the road to alert travelers of how much water they would be driving into when it rains and floods. I guess it cuts down on the number of bridges you have to build??????  These things are everywhere and top out at 5 feet.  Most of the creekbeds are dry this time of the year as in the case below to the right side of the road with the yellow gauge on the left side.

But they do have a few bridges, this one on the Nueces River.  Again, the water is crystal clear and displays as an aqua color in the white rock beds - beautiful.

This was a nice descent down to the Neuces.  Note also the rock walls along the right side.  There are 2 issues on the route you have be careful with.  Apparently the rock in this area is very brittle and there were many instances rounding curves where rocks were laying in the road.  The second issue is narrow roads with no shoulder protection at all.

Actually, there is a 3rd issue, about 10 cattle guards on RR 336.  I read that this is free range country for cattle and you are liable if you hit one of them.  The cattle guards are not a big deal, but another oddity for me.  All were at 90 degrees to the road except for one coming out of a curve which could be an issue if you did not get lined up soon enough (not the one in the picture).

There are lots of "roller coaster" hills, especially on RR335, with quick up and down steep hills.  I wish my camera did them justice but this will give you an idea.

At the higher elevations, the panoramic views were beautiful - again, I wish our camera did them justice.

That's it for now.  We are actually in the Big Bend area already, I am just behind on the blog.  Gonna spend some time along the Rio Grand River in Big Bend Park and in the towns of  Alpine, Marfa, Marathon, and Ft. Davis before heading to New Mexico.

Sorrow and Joy

It has been one year since we came home to be available to help out with Rachel's bed rest or anything else we could assist with.  After about two weeks at home, her early symptoms became more of a concern and the doctor sent her to the Women and Children's Hospital in Huntsville for very strict bed rest and regular monitoring. About four weeks later she went into labor and there was no stopping it.  The twins were born in a matter of about 15 minutes.  At 26 weeks Jackson Wayne checked in at 1 lb 13 oz and Shaun Anthony weighed in at 1 lb 11 oz.

26 weeks is very early but they did great for the first couple of weeks.  Their daily "treatment" plan was simple - rest and grow.  Scott and Rachel were soon able to hold them.

Jackson below getting some "kangaroo" skin time with Mom.

Shortly after the above pictures were taken, both boys developed a common digestive tract problem for preemies this early - necrotizing enterocolitis.  This is an infection of the digestive tract, and with little or no immune system development at their age, things turned critical quickly.  Jackson had surgery to remove portions of his intestine but was unable to overcome the trauma of that.  Our family lost Jackson Wayne McManus at 19 days old.  A small gathering of the immediate family laid him to rest at the Piney Grove Methodist Church in Danville, AL.  This is the church Rachel had grown up in and Jackson is buried next to Rachel's Mom and Dad whom she lost at age 8.

This is a very difficult post to write but Jackson is one of our 5 grandchildren, and though our hearts are broken, we will never forget him.  Life is full of both joyful and sorrowful times.  This is without a doubt the most difficult that Rhonda and I have ever experienced, but it is important that we remember Jackson as we also look forward to seeing him again one day.  Our Christian faith teaches us that children go to be with the Lord in Heaven, and that will be our reunion time with him when our time comes. Thanks be to God for that Saving Grace that He offers to us.  

The pastor shared many encouraging words during the funeral service and asked everyone to focus their prayers on Shaun so he might live to carry the torch forward for his twin brother.  Shaun responded somewhat to antibiotics but the enterocolitis still inflicted its damage.  After an exploratory surgery to check the intestines, the surgeon decided to give the damage time to possibly heal. However, things became critical two days later, another surgery was necessary, and one-half of his large intestine had to be removed.  A colostomy bag was put in place with plans to remove that at a later date and to reconnect the two ends of the large intestine after he had more time to heal and develop his strength.  Then a third surgery was required to repair some of the tissue damage around the incisions. Shaun proved to be a very tough little guy, and though things were touch and go at times, he began to make progress.  Milestones like his first 4th of July and one-month birthday were happy occasions and cause for celebration.

Monthly "birthdays" were celebrated and "recorded" with baseballs. 

1 pound 11 ounces became 2 pounds, then 3 and 4.  Grandparents finally got to hold and feed him.

CPAPs, tubes, and IVs finally were able to be removed, and after 103 days in NICU it was time for Shaun to go home!

He got a joyous sendoff from the nurses and staff that cared for him and had come to love him along with all the others under their care. The NICU world is one we had never known, but what a special group of people these folks are.  We will always have a special appreciation for them and the difficult but heroic and compassionate responsibilities they perform day after day.

Shaun's first venture into the world outside of NICU -  the car ride and trip home.

Shaun's schedule remained very busy with lots of doctor/specialist visits to track and monitor literally "everything" - vision, hearing, diet, cognitive signs, mobility, etc., and of course the continued healing of his surgeries.  Everything was progressing well and he was finally able to lose the colostomy bag which was a wonderful blessing, but obviously also required another major surgery (#4) to reconnect the two ends of his large intestines where the infected tissue had been removed previously. And once again, Shaun proved to be one very tough little boy and returned home for healing. And again, everything was progressing well, including the reconnected lower intestinal tract which began working again almost immediately.  

Then, just as all were thinking that the complications were behind us, Shaun developed a large abscess at one of his incisions requiring a fifth surgery and several more days in the hospital.  He recovered from that and then had a second abscess, requiring a sixth surgery but only an overnight hospital stay for that one.  Here's Shaun on his way home from that hospital trip - everyone agrees that he has a look of determination, especially with those clenched fists, as if to say - "OK, I have had enough - no more! And besides, it's Christmas!"

And so it was and is - no more major surprises since then, no more surgeries, and the follow-up doctor visits are fewer and fewer.  He has one complication with his left eye and wears glasses to hopefully correct that without another surgery. Is he precious or what?

He weighs almost 20 pounds now, smiles all the time, laughs for Scott's magic touch, rice has been added to his bottle (which he holds part of the time now on his own), baby food is being introduced into his diet, and we are all very optimistic about his future.  We have no less than hundreds of photos we could share but here are a few from the past year.

Shaun with the family cat, Ruby.

And you knew there would be airplane and boat rides!!

Shaun has seriously discovered his feet recently and loves the taste of those toes.

Posing on our couch for his first overnight with Granddad and Granny!

No doubt, this has been a tough year for our family, especially Scott, Rachel, and Shaun.  Please remember them in your prayers and pray especially for continued progress with Shaun AND NO MORE COMPLICATIONS!

As Shaun and Jackson were identical twins, we will continually remember Jackson through his brother.

 A stone memorial has been placed at Jackson's burial site and expresses what we all feel. 

"Those we have held in our arms for a little while, we hold in our hearts forever."  

We are so thankful to be able to hold this precious little boy and cherish every moment.

Rachel recently shared with us that they are finalizing plans for Jackson's tombstone and invitations are being sent out for Shaun's first birthday, continuing with the baseball tradition previously noted.  Again, sorrow and joy.

In lieu of gifts, Scott and Rachel are asking friends and family to write Shaun a note or include something for him to open on his 18th birthday - those will be some very special messages to this very special little boy.  Thank you for your prayers, love, and support.