The Events of Monday, October 25, 2010

          Last night as we took stock of our journey, we realized that we had been on the go pretty much nonstop for a couple of weeks. As I reviewed the housekeeping tasks before us, it was decided as a family that we would stay one more day in this lovely deserted Cape Cod campground and have a “Catch Up and Chill” day.

          As a result, our morning got off to a deliciously slow start. I was awakened by squirrels overhead chattering at each other and bombarding the RV with pinecones. Ben awoke on his own and headed out for a run. The girls could be heard softly turning pages of their books and Bibles. Soon Jim returned from his walk and with the girls’ help started on our hot breakfast of bacon and eggs. Then the girls helped me fold the rest of our clean laundry while Ben put up the beds and set up the breakfast tables. Soon we were all enjoying a delicious breakfast.

          After breakfast and family devotions it was time to get to the tasks at hand. A priority for the morning was dumping our gray water (dishwater and bathroom sink water) as it was full, and when full it tends to back up into the shower. So we divided and conquered. Caitlin and Lindsey went off to the showers, I drove the beast to the dump, Ben and Abby expertly handled dumping the black water (toilet yuck) and the gray water, and Jim went to the camp office to pay for another night’s lodging. Then we returned to our camping spot, leveled off, pushed out the slide outs and commenced with Harvey’s cleaning. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that with six of us living in such a small space, it gets dirty quickly, but it never ceases to amaze me HOW dirty. We have a “no shoes” rule in the RV and sweep the entire RV after every meal, yet as Caitlin washed the floor (that Abby had just swept AND vacuumed) she commented that she could feel a layer of dirt on the bottom of her pail of soapy water. We sent Ben off to the showers and tackled the vacuuming and the bathroom. Jim became Mr. Fix-It and repaired some minor things that have worked their way loose during our travels. Then it was Abby and my turn for the showers and when we returned the RV just sparkled.

          Being plugged in and stationary has its advantages, so we enjoyed a hot lunch of leftovers and I whipped up an apple crisp. I left my pastry cutter at home, not thinking I was going to be making many pies or desserts, but when we get apples that are “woody” or soft, it is apple crisp time. So I have been using my whisk as a pastry cutter. It isn’t pretty but it does the job. Lindsey had swept the floor and Jim had washed the dishes by the time Caitlin and I were finished with the apple crisp. Meanwhile, Ben, our “tech” guy, set up the movie. It is funny to realize that at home we have a large screen but only stereo sound and here on the road we have this tiny, tiny screen but surround sound. This is actually just the right proportions for finishing up watching the Fellowship of the Ring – Abby and Pam’s reward for having finally finished reading the complete trilogy together. This way you get to hear all the great music and neat Elvish words, but the ugly orcs and goblins are very small.

          After the movie, it was time to plan our next few states and weeks. We managed to figure out Rhode Island before it was time to start dinner. After dinner, while Jim cleaned up, the girls, led by Caitlin, tackled the accounting needed to make sure we stay on budget. Then we moved on to planning out Connecticut and how we were going to circle through Pennsylvania and then head back to New York, perhaps checking out New Jersey on the way. Our tentative plan is to be in New York City for the ten days or so before Thanksgiving so we can enjoy the city without some of the holiday traffic. We are hoping to end our time in New York with the Thanksgiving Day Parade.

          The only mar in this perfect day is that Ben developed a fever and chills just before dinner. The poor guy was complaining of being cold and he was piling on sweatshirts and blankets, but his temperature was normal. He had complained of some back pain yesterday, but frequently has pain associated with his growth spurts. After dinner, which he declined to eat, thus raising the red flag that something really was wrong, he had a fever of 101.7° F. I plied him with ibuprofen and sent him off to sleep. By bedtime his temperature had risen to 102.5° despite the medication and he was miserable. This warranted a call to Dr. Aunt Pat who immediately recommended an ER visit. Now that is easier said than done. Presently we are on the very tip of Cape Cod and the nearest hospital is over an hour away AND we are all hooked up and slid out, so it is no easy task just to head over to the ER. Pat suggested calling a cab, a good suggestion, but again we are out in the boondocks, not exactly prime cab territory. After checking in with Ben again, who wasn’t feeling any pain and just wanted to sleep and after doing a little online research (sorry Pat, I know how you hate your patients playing doctor online), we decided to take a “wait and watch” attitude. Waking him up just now, at midnight, to give him his next dose of meds, I found that his temperature had dropped to 100.6°. He reports he is feeling no pain, and is just tired and wants to be left alone to sleep. So to sleep we all shall go.