Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.

Henry David Thoreau

Sticker Shock

Friday August 17, 2012
Quail Run RV Resort
Wesley Chapel, Florida

 

 

I’m one chore closer to movin’ on.  I had my eye appointment.

THURSDAY


I’ve been asking around of people who actually live in this area where I should go for an eye exam.  Looking at things close up, like reading, I see perfectly with my bare eyes, even better than perfectly.  But I’ve worn glasses since I was in the 6th grade in order to see well at a distance.  I’m seriously near sighted. 

 

optomitrist joke

 

Over 30 years ago I began wearing contact lenses and as the years have gone by my distance vision has worsened and I have gone to monovision contacts where one eye is corrected for distance and one for close up. I love my contacts even though this means that the only place I see really really well is in between.  Since we have not been doing anything for months now I mostly use my close vision for computer work and reading and being inside the coach where everything is easily seen. No long distances here :-)  When I need that,  I put my glasses on to drive or do things outside.

I haven’t had my contacts out for this long in ages - well over 30 years.  Anyway, to get to the point.  My glasses are probably 5 years old at the least could be more, seriously, and the coating they put on them is now coming off and the lenses are nearly impossible to see through.  Looks like a haze.

 

 

Boy was I in for a shock!

Folks around here and at Moffitt recommended, can you believe this, the optometrist at Target.  So today I went in for my $54 eye exam.  Great price and I thought he was very good.  But then I went to order the glasses themselves and about passed out.  Nearly $500 for graduated bifocals with coating and insurance.  WHAT??  Does that seem right to you? 

I’m wondering if there is one price if you have insurance and another if you don’t?  I was in a bind here as I’m in a hurry to get these so we can leave and didn’t have time or the inclination to shop around in this heat.  But I do remember that David paid $250 for the whole thing about 8 years ago at a place called Vision Works.  Could glasses have doubled in price in that time? 

Or would the price have been less if my insurance hadn’t covered half of it?  Hopefully the glasses will be here mid next week.  I definitely don’t want to be driving Winnona with the fog haze lenses I’ve got now.

 

More fun was the heavy rain on Friday morning.

Friday

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I know lots of folks are tired of rain when they get too much.  And I’m sure I would be too if it rained for days and days.  Here in Florida, it rains every day but usually not for long and in the late afternoon.  But lately the weather has been playing tricks and we had a really BIG heavy shower this morning.  One of those pour down ones that I showed in a slide show a few days ago.  I love sitting out on the patio for as long as I can watching the way things change.  Seeing the fog, the mist and how it change the atmosphere and aura.  Listening to the booming thunder.  Seeing the jagged rips of lightning.  Hearing them crack like a ship.

And then after the rain it is much cooler for a little while until the humidity sinks in again.  These rains have brought out the mushrooms much to the delight of this fella who scampered over to the patio after the rain and took his treat up the Live Oak tree next to us and enjoyed himself immensely.  And we enjoyed watching him clinging on with his feet while eating what I would call upside down.  David’s comment was, “well if I could eat like that I wouldn’t get food all over my shirt”.  Good point.  Wonder if that’s why the squirrel faces down to eat?  I posted two versions of the picture.  The first one is what we saw and the other is a horizontal pictures so you can see more closely how he’s hanging on with his toes and leg muscles and holding his mushroom.  Even squirrels are natural fun.

 

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The mail has been much more interesting lately.

 

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The pedometers come and I put mine on yesterday to see how many steps I take in an ordinary non running day.  Pitiful.  Under 5000.   But today I get nearly 8000 just by running.  It’s very interesting to compare my pedometer with my running watch.  The watch doesn’t do steps but it does do distance and calories.  But its distances and calories differ from the pedometers.  The pedometer is set for my stride which is about 26 feet in 10 steps. The watch uses GPS.  The pedometer recorded a mile less in an hour of running than the watch.  So I pick up a mile an hour by running rather than walking.  Of course this picture shows the walking day and has no running data. 

David uses his pedometer only while doing his formal walks every day. He mostly wants to see how far he’s going in a certain amount of time.  I wear mine all the time since I’m interested in those 10000 steps a day and I can see that I’m going to have to ‘step it up’ on my non running days.

 

Also in the mailbox are MORE POSTCARDS!

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When I open the mailbox today there are THREE postcards.

This is great!

Take a look at that mirror!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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One is from Judy and Emma in the Outer Banks.  Definitely this is a favorite place of mine and I am REALLY hoping we can get up there before they leave the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge.   No doubt because she knows how I love water, Judy has sent me a postcard of the sister refuge at which she also volunteers, Pea Island.  THANKS JUDY!!

 

 

 

Quail Run

 

Tricia and Dan send us a card from one of Kentucky’s great places, Mammoth Cave.  Thanks Tricia, good thought about a cool place to go.  My advice is just stay there, don’t come any further south.  J

 

 

 

 

 

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Liz sends a card from Boise Idaho.  Bet it’s cool out there now too.  We’ve been to Idaho but only for a too short time at Utah Lake.  So it’s definitely on the list for a return to state.  We haven’t even begun to see Idaho that’s clear.  Thanks Liz.

 

 

 

I’m getting great ideas for places to go now and in the future.

I just have the best followers. 
That’s all there is to it!!

19 comments:

  1. I have Davis Vision insurance for which I pay about $8.10 a month, so you know it doesn't cover a lot. It pays for new frames every other year and new lenses each year. The amount they pay for lenses doesn't include all the extra stuff you have to have in order to not have a glaring, scratchy piece of glass in a month's time. I find that with this insurance I get the best deal at Walmart Vision Centers. I normally can't stand Walmart and try to not shop there, but honestly, it's much better than any place I've ever been for glasses. The prices are great too, although I do have some help with the glasses. By the way, last time I think the frames I could select from ran up to about $115 - Walmart's price. I would take that Rx you got and check out a Walmart Vision Center.

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  2. sounds like David is doing well....love the squirrel pics I could watch them all day....wow that mirror is filling up fast :)...

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  3. A bit late now, but two options for you next time: WalMart has $9 frames that I've gotten the last two times. With my progressive lenses and photogrey (whatever they call it now, gets dark in sun...) I think I was up to around $250. Also, my next glasses will probably come from Zenni Optical http://www.zennioptical.com/ because a couple of the bloggers have had good luck with them. A LOT cheaper.

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  4. Too late now, Sherry, but take a look at this site. Clark Howard, a wonderful consumer advocate has all kinds of money saving tips. I happen to hear a caller raving about saving money buying through one of the sites he suggests. http://tinyurl.com/95sjzfb (specifically about eye wear).

    I lucked out. I need glasses for the computer. I see distance alright, but haven't been able to see a page in a book since cataract surgery--long story. Anyway, when I got the prescription for the glasses, I went to fill it and almost fell over at the prices. The young man said, "Well, we do have discontinued frames..." I said, "Great, hopefully they are a lot cheaper." They were FREE! So whenever you fill your prescriptions, you might ask if they have any discontinued frames. Honestly, though, I think Clark has the best answer, and I'm going through them next time.

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  5. Als' last glasses were from Walmart in Kentucky...bifocal transistions non glare and fabulous frames that you can even sit on and they don't break! They were almost $400 all told, we have no insurance. But considering I paid $800 for them, with not as good frames, back in NY at the optometrist, I was thrilled with the price.
    Oh, and the GPS we're using for geocaching is the Geocaching app for the Iphone. Works great so far...can't blame my fall on that!

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  6. Love the cartoon - LOL!

    Good job getting a picture of that squirrel. They're always so F-A-S-T!! I agree with David - it would be great if we could eat like that. I have a sad number of shirts with food stains on them. . . .

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  7. Catherine got new glasses last year and I about fell over at the cost. Glad someone is reaping the benefit of all the rain.

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  8. Re: Glasses/contacts, I hear ya sister. I am a long time contact wearer (35 years!). Started with the old hard ones, and now wear softs. Did the mono-vision route, then the older I got the worse the vision got so that didn't work. Now I wear contacts with the same #, and use cheaters for reading and computer. My after contact use is glasses that sort of work, but not for up close. I pray for cataracts then I get the lasik covered by insurance :)

    We love squirrels too. They are very smart!

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  9. Love the squirrel picture! Too cute. Glasses (and contacts) are ridiculously high. So glad you got the postcard. We're headed South to work on the RV lot...should be in FL in 2 weeks. Wrong time of year, I know but we gotta do it sometime!

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  10. I paid a bit more than that for my lineless bifocals at Kaiser. To get good lenses you have to.--- I checked around a lot of places, and they are all 400 and up for my perscription. You have to have single lenses for those cheep glasses that are 65.00, and they are probably just that cheep.

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  11. Costco is the place to buy glasses. I also wear contacts and Costco is the best place to buy them.

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  12. I have an eye appointment set up for Tuesday so I'll let you know how it goes. I'm expecting to faint at the cost since I'll be needing two pairs of glasses. Last time (three years ago) it cost me over $600 in Minnesota. No telling what they'll charge on the OBX. :(

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  13. That is the main reason we maintain a Costco membership. Our glasses there are at least 50% less than most places. We do not have insurance so it helps us a lot!
    By the time we get to another interesting place to buy a postcard you'll have moved on. I might have to send you a virtual one! :)

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  14. That does sound expensive for glasses - thank you Dad for PERFECT eyesight! Yippie for me :) I hope the glasses come soon so you can get on the road again!! I know you 'just can't wait to be on the road again' ;) So glad you're getting post cards - that was a great idea to start a postcard mirror. Hopefully mine will be there soon :)

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  15. Yay for postcards!

    If you have your Rx, including the distance between your pupils (PD?), you could send away for your glasses. Look at Zenni Optical and similar companies. You could always get a spare pair from them. If they need adjustment to your head, you could take them to Walmart. They probably won't charge you even if they know you didn't buy them there.

    Annie got two pairs when we were in Los Algodones. I forget how much, but not as much as what you mention. Hold on, I'll ask! ... she says the two were under $250 altogether. I remember it being around $210.

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  16. January 2012, I paid $550 for trifocal with lines, coated and no insurance. The medical world cost have gone the way of fuel costs. But hey, ya gotta see;o)) May look at getting next pair in Mexico;o))

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  17. Distance vision is fine; can't see worth much for close up ... I had the same reaction when I got my last pair of glasses. Good tips in the comments for future reference.

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  18. Have to agree with the Zenni Optical suggestions, but it takes about 2 or 3 weeks to get your glasses from them. We have both ordered many pairs from them and have had no problems. Also you will pay much less at Sam's Club or Costco or even WalMart. I worked in ophthalmology and we didn't see many problems with glasses from the discount places.

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  19. Ouch! That is really a painful price. I can get a free pair of glasses every year from the military. They call them "Birth Control Glasses" because they are so ugly no member of the opposite sex would ever come near me. :cO

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