Day #193 – Kelly Goes Fishing

Gatlinburg TN

There’s a guy at the campground, Tom, who is hiding out from his wife.  He’s been married several times and this one didn’t work out so well.  He’s born and raised in east Tennessee, with the accent and sweet sense of Southern hospitality to match.  He’s a lovable guy who talks nearly non-stop.  He would do just about anything for anyone and always has a funny story to tell.  He also has heart disease.  He’s stopped eating beef and dairy, but rolls his own cigarettes and smokes pretty much non-stop.  He works at the camp ground in exchange for free camping.

When Tom found out that Kelly had never fished, he decided to take her out and teach her.  We got her a one-day permit online and set an alarm clock.

They got a very early start and were gone most of the morning.  They came home dirty, smelly, and happy.  Kelly’s first fish was too small to even photograph, let alone keep – not even four inches.  Her second one was respectable.  Tom was too busy talking to catch anything.  Since the catch was a single serving, Kelly gave the fish to Tom.

Despite her fishing lesson and success, her favorite part of the day was seeing a river otter.

Later in the day, we had another pot luck with the other full-timers.  Tom cooked up a pork loin on his grill, along with cabbage and turkey dogs for the folks who keep Kosher.  We brought salad and a water melon to round out the meal.

Day #189 – Dental IV

Gatlinburg TN

Today was another dentist day.  I think fear of the dentist is, for me anyway, linked to trust.  Since I’ve seen all the staff stop at any sign of pain and do everything they can to keep the procedures pain-free, I’ve been seeing my trust increase and my fear ebb.  I still don’t like it, but it’s not sending me crawling up the wall any more. 

I also found out something very interesting about the pain killers they use.  The most common injected anesthetic for dental work contains epinephrine.  That’s the same drug found in an EpiPen – it causes constriction of blood vessels, along with side effects of increased heart rate and a shaky feeling in the muscles.  I’ve always felt very anxious after getting shot up, with the feeling of every muscle in my body trembling and my heart racing.  Generally, by the time I’m finished at the office, I just want to sit in the car and cry.  Now those feelings make sense – they’re part of the physiological response to the medication.  The anxiety is an emotional reaction to the physiological response – if your muscles are shaking and your heart is racing, you must be scared and/or anxious.  So, the feeling emerges from the physical.  Learning about the medication and understanding the link between the physical and the emotional has helped me cope with it all.

Today was deep cleaning and cavity fixing on the left side of my mouth.  Despite my increased understanding of what was going on, I still didn’t have much fun.  But, it’s over now.

Day #187 – Leaks & Party

Gatlinburg TN

This morning, I found our first leak.  The hot water outlet valve in the bathroom, used to drain water prior to winterizing the trailer, was leaking.  I walk around the trailer every day to just look it over, so I knew this was a new leak.  As soon as I started to crawl under for a better look, Paul came by to help.  We couldn’t find our channel grips (left them in Florida), so Paul brought his over.  Before I could even protest, he’d crawled under and tightened the valve.

Kelly worked on a project for most of the day, aided by Fran.  I provided lunch to them, and later snacks to them and the newest full-timer work camper, Leatta.  While they worked and yakked, I did some trip planning.

I’m having some trip angst right now.  The dentist had told me that follow-up for my gums is crucial to me keeping my teeth.  I’m torn between coming back here in four months to see the same dentist or finding another on the road, and hoping that the new one is as good as this one.  After learning that my prior dentist was apparently not that great, I’ve lost confidence in my ability to judge who’s good and who ain’t.

Kelly wants to aim for Wyoming to visit one of her aunts.  So, I figured out a trip plan that could get us there and back in four months.  It won’t work though – we can’t keep to a schedule to save our lives and this one would be too close for comfort.  At this point, we’re thinking of heading in that direction, then leaving the trailer behind to drive quickly back here for the dental checkup.  We’ll see.

Don, the campground manager had a hankering for steak today.  So, Kelly and Fran took his money and headed to the grocery store.  We made steak, potatoes, and salad for nine people.  I ended up eating vegan because I can’t eat steak.  The alcohol was flowing freely and we got a bit rowdy.  It made me uncomfortable – staff being more annoying than the campers.  But, we wrapped it up by 10 PM.

After washing the dishes, I discovered that our grey water tank had filled and was backing up into the bathtub.  Phew – that smelled bad!  Kelly drained the tank and scrubbed the tub while I dug out our super-duper Fresh Wave (http://www.fresh-wave.com/categories/Shop-All-Products/?gclid=CNmloMev_aECFQrKsgodQm4QGA) pine/lime air freshener that we’d purchased before leaving Pittsburgh.  We hadn’t used it yet because it was so strong, but it did the job!