Larry's Weight

Click on graph for larger image.

When I checked into the hospital on June 12 they recorded my weight as 300 lbs. In other words, I had become really really fat. Most likely, that in itself was a major contributing factor to my knee deterioration. So I finally decided to get serious about loosing some weight. the above graph tracks my steady weight loss since June 12. I set a goal of losing 100 lbs in one years time and as the chart shows, I am on track to do just that. In simple terms energy in minus energy out determines ones weight, so to lose weight one must either reduce energy in through diet and/or increase energy out through exercise. Since I am pretty much a "couch potato" my success has depended mostly on restricting my caloric intake. I jokingly tell folks that I have been hungry since June but in truth after a few weeks my body has seemed to adjust and it really isn't so bad. The big thing was cutting way back on the evening snacks. At this point, I'm understandably proud of my progress so far and am pretty sure that I can make my goal but...the real test will be, once there, staying there. ;-)

Thanksgiving and beyond

We had a lovely Thanksgiving dinner Thursday in the clubhouse. The park donated the turkeys, hams & rolls and we residents bought individual dishes. I made my usual "Spanish Deviled Eggs" and Teddy made Tom Sykes' jalapeño cornbread & a creamed corn casserole which was very popular. We ended up with a huge feast which in addition to the ham & turkey consisted of several different versions of dressings, mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberry dishes, casseroles, relish trays, pies, cakes, truffles etc. (too numerous to mention) There were over seventy persons in attendance. My diet was completely busted.

THE NEXT EVENING






Then, Friday evening at 5pm several of us met for leftovers at a...












..."Day after Thanksgiving leftover dinner"








Here's where Teddy & I sat.













Oh...Oh! I think I busted my diet again. Oh well, I'm back on it today. {smile}

Kit-Cat Clock

Here's our "Kit-Cat Clock", however, it doesn't keep very good time, wakes me at five am to play, knocks things off shelves and although it seem to always be wound up, it has to be fed instead of rewound.
But would we get rid of it? NEVER!

Senior Breakfast

Senior Breakfast

Every morning for years I have had my glass of Tabasco spiced V8....and now that I'm a "Senior" I find that it is an excellent way to take my morning pills.
It's hell getting old but Tabasco & V8 make it easier. ;-)

Teddy's wash & wax loophole

Due to water & sewer restrictions they don't allow hose washing your own trailer in the park. However, there are commercial wash, wax, and detail companies that come and do a brisk business in the park with their own self contained systems which consist of water tanks, cleaning & waxing solutions, generators, electric buffers etc. We had it done twice last winter however, it can be quite expensive around $200 for a wash alone & a complete wash, wax and full detail is even more. Tough sledding for us poor midwesterners although the rich California folks with their half-a-million dollar motor homes don't seem to mind. Last Friday I came back from morning coffee and found Teddy washing the trailer by hand with a squeeze bottle, sponge and towel. It took her all day... ...and then the next day she waxed......while I watched. After 43 years of marriage she still manages to amaze me.

Happy Hour

Usually, in the early evening before dinner several of us gather near someone's RV for a snacks & drinks gabfest.

Here we are last evening gathered at the Dingmans.
Clockwise around the circle are Larry Weber, Don Dingman, Carol Dingman, Gayle Valentine, Teddy's empty chair, Carol Peterson, Ross Peterson, Jim Babcock's empty chair, Carol Babcock, Gail Bristow, Ed Bristow, Ray Valentine (partially cut off), and my empty chair as I was taking the picture.
"Where are Teddy & Jim?", you might ask. Out riding around on Jim's Honda Goldwing.
I suppose that now Teddy is going to want us to buy a Goldwing.

" 'da sun go down...'da moon come out..."

The sunsets and moon rises here in Havasu are simply gorgeous. Just in the past couple of weeks I have taken these picts. It is coming to the point that I don't even want to bother to photograph them any more. This was taken on 10/28 from rear of the park looking across the Colorado River.
...and then I turned around 180 degrees and caught this shot of the sunset reflecting off the clubhouse windows.
A couple of nights ago on Saturday evening 11/3 I shot this photo through the doorway of our trailer.
On the other hand, the moon can be quite spectacular too, especially when full as it was on 10/25 when I got this shot of the moon rising over Arizona's Hulalapai Mountain chain across the road from our RV Park.
This is what it looked like a few minutes later.

At the Car Show

Last weekend there was a big car show here in Lake Havasu with several special events scheduled throughout the weekend. On Friday afternoon Teddy & I along with Gary & Jan Morse went to a general exhibit on several blocked off streets. According to the newspaper there were some 700 plus cars parked there on Friday and they had to turn away over 100 more for lack of parking space.. We spent a couple of hours wandering around looking at Hot Rods and restored cars. For the most part I didn't know much about what I was looking at as I have never really been into cars.
Here a few of the photos that Teddy & I took.
Teddy took a picture of this "Woodie".
Don't know what this is but I like it.
Lil' red Ford
They don't make Hudsons anymore
I think this to be a Pontiac?
Cool Pick-up
Another of Teddy's favorites.
They came in every color Imaginable.
'52 Stude.
He had to cut a hole to close the hood.
Of course, you gotta' have flames!
One of my faves was this '55 Chevy Bel-Air.
But probably the best car there was this little fellow's zero emissions 'Hot-Rod'

Havasu Falls RV Resort

Here we are at our winter home in Lake Havasu City, AZ. Our local address until April will be:
Havasu Falls RV Resort
Site 59
3493 SR 95 North
Lake Havasu City, AZ 86404
Phone: 920.716.7246
email: larry@larryandteddy.com
teddy@larryandteddy.com
We arrived here under sunny skies on Sunday afternoon the 14th...greeted with hugs & smiles from some of our 'Snowbird' friends who were already here. I already have my high speed internet hooked up, so I'm a 'happy camper'; Teddy has already started making her daily 6 mile round trip walk to the Wal-Mart plaza & back and Nazzie is busy studying the humming birds that have already found our feeder.
Life is good!!

Independence Rock

Tonight we are in Orem, Utah, having driven further than previously planned as I wanted to visit Segway of Utah in Spanish Fork (abt. 10 mi south of here) while passing through and knew that they wouldn't be open on Sunday.
This morning while on Wyoming Rt. 220 SW of Casper we happened on Independence Rock and stopped to explore & take pictures.Independence Rock is one of the most famous landmarks on the Oregon Trail. Emigrants wanted to reach the rock by the Fourth of July to ensure passage over the western mountain ranges before winter snows.
Many theories vary about naming the rock but most versions originate with events that happened on the Fourth of July.
William Sublette, an early mountain guide, is credited with christening it in honor of our nation’s birthdate on July 4th, 1830. One version was based on the Rock standing independent from the other rock formations on the plains.
Explorer John Frémont wrote in 1842 upon visiting the Rock, “…the rock is inscribed with…many a name famous in the history of this country…are to be found among those of traders and travelers…some of these have been washed away by the rain, but the greater number are still very legible.”
Names were sometimes painted with ordinary paint, wagon tar or with a mixture of black powder, buffalo grease and glue. Others were carved into the hard stone with tools carried for wagon repairs. Mormons stationed professional stonecutters at the rock to engrave names for one to five dollars a name. Few names remain today as lichen, weather and time are eroding them away.

Still goin'

After we left Dan & Pats we continued to travel West staying overnight in Appleton where we watched the Packer game with Mike & Toni; then across Wisconsin, over-nighting in Albert Lea, Minnesota and Rapid City, South Dakota. Today, the 11th, we traveled from Rapid City to here in Casper, Wyoming. Tomorrow we cut across the mountains to Rowlins, WY and then follow I 80 SW toward Salt Lake.
Today we passed through Lost Springs, WY on route 20 in Eastern Wyoming. Easily the smallest town that we have ever been in...or will ever be in as this picture will attest.

Arizona bound

As promised, we left Michigan Saturday morning Oct. 6 for our winter digs in Lake Havasu City, AZ. We spent our first night on the road parked in Dan & Pat Martenson's driveway in Escanaba, MI. We had a great time visiting with them and as usual Pat treated us with a scrumptious dinner complete with apple pie for desert. My diet suffered somewhat but it was sure worth it. :-)

On the Road Again

Summer is over and winter is on it's heels so it's time for us to bid adieu to Leelanau County, Michigan and head for our winter digs at the Havasu Falls RV Resort in Lake Havasu City, Arizona. We are all hooked up and ready to pull out tomorrow morning, Oct 6. e are sorry to be leaving our friends and family here, but are excited about again seeing all of our RV friends in Arizona
Here we are in our travel mode.
We plan on taking our time with easy travel days of no more than 300 miles per day arriving in Lake Havasu on the 15th.

Here is our tentative travel itinerary...assuming no travel delays due to weather mechanical or whatever. (click on it to enlarge)

Larry and Teddy's Excellent Adventure

Today, Thurs. 9/27/07 was a go to town day for us. At 8:45 am I had an appointment at Dr. Peters' (my knee surgeon) office in Traverse for a final check-up.

First I had to go down this hall and get some X-rays taken.







Luckily this didn't apply to me.











Then they sent us into an examination room down this hall.



When we entered the exam room I saw that they already had my x-rays on display for the Doc. to see.





Then we settled in for the long wait for the Doctor to arrive.





Here are some of the things that I saw while we were waiting.






Finally, Doctor Peters entered. He seemed quite pleased with my progress and wants to see me next May when we come back to Northern Michigsan.




So we stopped at the "Check Out" window and made an appointment for next May







It was still quite early so we decided to go to McDonalds for breakfast.


Teddy had a breakfast burrito & a senior coffee...




...and I had an order of scrambled eggs & a senior decaf.






After a while it was time to go Meijer's grocery as Teddy had made a date to meet one of her old High School chums there at the lunch concession.



While Teddy and Carol were hashing over old times, I finished the daily newspaper crossword and then wandered around the store with my camera. After I took these pictures I got 'busted' by management and was told that I couldn't take photos in the store.


So finally after resisting the opportunity to obtain "Instant Credit" we headed for home.
All in all it was a pretty good day and I got some pretty good pictures...don't you think?