Bentsen Palm to Royal Palm

Bentsen Palm Dr. that is, to Royal Palm RV park. It’s an OK park. True to its name, for you RGV folks, it kind of looks like Victoria Palms in the RGV from a distance. That is every site has its 30/40 ft Royal Palm. Pretty close-in, north of downtown Phoenix. Rather typical I guess? For a 55+, long term stay park. According to the brochure there are 334 home sites and 124 RV sites. All the RV sites are together. There is a nice pool, library, pool tables, laundry, and rec room. Typical !! I think it’s about 7 miles from the VA hospital. Where we have spent some time.

The VA is not as bad as you may have heard. We did spend 10 hours in Urgent Care/Emergency that one day and night but other than that it’s been pretty good. Kat just gets kind of protective and in that mode her claws seem to come out. Not a bad thing. It just makes it seem it’s worse than it is. But with some persistence and phone calls, Kats’ specialty, we’re getting results. We took my records in yesterday, for the second time, to be reviewed by the head of oncology. Being the second time, that was a little frustrating.  We got a call today and have an appointment with a doctor on the 15^th. So we’ll see what they have in mind here. Originally I was not really due anything until late April. Chemo was coming to an end and all I had was my hormone shot and stent replacement. We thought we would be heading west with nothing to do until April. But then my Texas chemo doctor thought we should continue chemo. Frankly, I’d rather not. Chemo Sucks !!!! Big Time !! It’s been a month since my last chemo and I’m just beginning to feel better. But I will do what I have to do. I’d just rather it weren’t chemo. Did I say Chemo Sucks !!!!!!!!! Guess I did.

Being further west is kind of neat. Stuff has familiar names and looks a little more like were use to. No more HEB (Harold E Butts). Now it’s Albertson’s and Fry’s and Safeway. Imagine that, more than one choice for groceries. We’ve been to Albertson’s and I got some good bagels. No more of those bollio’s Mexican rolls or whatever they were. Now it’s In and Out, Carl’s Jr. and even a Dutch Brothers coffee. One of Kats favorites. And they had almond syrup for her 16 ounce Almond latte, not too hot. I had to turn into that place real quick let me tell you! But it wasn’t like the experience in Missouri. I must have wrote about that a few years ago. Worth another tell. We had been traveling through Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Missouri for a while. If you’re familiar, there are no Starbucks, Dutch Brothers, Seattle’s Best or anything like that within a light year. It’s one of those second star to the right and straight on till morning things. A long way !! Kat is on the phone with her son Rick, I’m driving the motorhome and we’re approaching Interstate 40. It’s an unusual entrance on to the freeway given that there is a stoplight on to a busy freeway entrance ramp. Lot’s of semi’s and big rigs and stuff. And across the freeway is some sort of shopping mall. Now we’ve been in rural America for a couple of weeks. Kat who was very much use to the Northwest and a coffee shop on every corner is still addicted and fighting withdrawal. The only thing we had seen was Family Dollar, Dollar General and Dollar Tree. The last place we had stopped was a fruit stand combination antique store and the couple who ran it didn’t have a mouth full of teeth between them. So there we are, waiting at the red light to turn on to I-40. The light turns green, I start into the intersection to a blood curdling scream from the right seat. I didn’t know whether to crap my drawers or go blind. Rick is on the phone and I can hear him wondering if we have become a long grease spot on the interstate? I come out of shock enough to look for and expect the oncoming semi about to crush us, only to see Kat pointing across to the mall and a Starbucks sign. Holy Crap !!!!!! And we were on the freeway and didn’t even turn around and go back. Something you don’t do on the freeway driving a motorhome and towing a dinghy. It got so I good see those coffee house signs and just pull in and avoid the stress. But now Kat is pretty much over it and we don’t even stop that much, although I do ask. Just to be on the safe side. It’s those claws!!

Just kidding.