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

Henry David Thoreau

Silver River Day 2

Friday January 6, 2012
Silver River State Park Site 43
Silver River Florida


First thing today was to clean the shuttle valve. 
Done with the help of a few rags and some canned air.
 
Put it back on, take the cap and put it back on the jack
and we are MOSTLY back in business.


David and Winnona conferring.

Silver River 016


Slides go in and out.  YES!!
Three of Four jacks come down AND lift.
YES!! 
So we only have the one refusal to come down
and we’ve got his number since we ordered
that “yet another” solenoid” from HWH Frank yesterday. 
As soon as it shows up, we should be totally back in business. 
But like last time, we probably aren’t going to sell the bottle jack.
J


Thanks so much for your concerns for David. 
As we said, he has no symptoms,
didn’t know there was a problem until
recent routine blood work came back. 
So we won’t know anything else
until he goes for the consultation appointment. 
There is a bit of a snag there.

 
Those who are on Medicare probably already know
this but for those whose 65th birthday is coming up
and are just starting out on this journey
let me enlighten you about a few things we’ve learned.
 
The Mayo Clinic told us up front that Medicare
will only cover 85% of what Mayo thinks
is the reasonable charge for this and many other services. 
SO that means Medicare will cover 80%
of the 85% they have approved as “reasonable”. 
We have supplemental insurance which will cover the other 20%
but that leaves us stuck for the 15% Medicare says is really
too much for Mayo to charge.
Confused yet?

Given this medical condition  and its unknowns
in terms of tests and procedures
we aren’t willing to stick our wallets out for an unknown
amount of money that will be that 15% . 
So it’s back to the drawing board
looking for a hematologist in Florida. 
Probably Tampa since that’s the nearest
major medical facility to my father’s house in Largo. 
Anybody want to recommend a hematologist in that area??

With our rig situation well in hand,
I biked over to check out the trail to
the kayak launch.  I wanted to see if it
was too sandy to pull our kayak carts through and
we would then have to put in at Ray’s and make
it a 6 mile kayak up stream rather than a 3 mile one.

Silver River 002

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Silver River 006

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After checking it out, I determined that we could pull
the boats the 1.09 miles from the campground to the put in.

We spent the rest of the day hanging out
with our friends Gin & Syl of Wandering Sylville
who have just sold their house and will be full timing. 
They’ve came down from Clayton North Carolina
to join us but MOSTLY to pick up their new full timing
coach, a Journey they bought from Lazy Daze. 
REALLY Exciting!!!!

Their new 40’ motorhome has been christened
TAWANDA (Fried Green Tomatoes fans will recognize the reference)
and here is Gin showing us all how to properly say it with gusto.
 
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It’s always good to have muti-talented friends.
Gin gave David a haircut with the FlowBee.
Notice that you can’t even see the hairs being cut.  J
Silver River 017


While they were here, Gin & Syl got a phone call from Lazy Daze. 
I’ll just let the pictures I took speak for themselves. 
A little bit of negotiating going on I think.
 Silver River 018

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We are SO happy for them at the start of
this new adventure in Life.

12 comments:

  1. Good work on the slides and jacks, you're making progress. I sold my bottle jack when we had the estate sale, did I make a mistake? :c(

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  2. Judging by that last picture of Syl, I'm guessing that the negotiating went well in their favor. :-)

    Hope you're easily able to find another doctor for David to see. How frustrating!

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  3. Love the photos of Gin and Syl!! It is such an exciting time for them and us as we are getting to share their excitment:o))

    Can't wait to pull the kayaks down to the river...it will be fun!!!

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  4. We have pulled our kayak carts on that path many times. It's only half mile and not too bad if you don't try to hurry.

    We parked our vehicle right in front of the trail area and Al brought along a little chain and a lock. We locked the carts to a hidden tree.

    We always prefer putting in at the park rather than Ray's Wayside..it's a much shorter trip up to the head springs...which are Beautiful!

    Glad you are getting to meet Gin and Syl. We're hoping to meet up with them when they come down to Lazy Days.

    We'd like to meet you guys also. We'll be leaving the Keys soon and heading back towards Tampa. (sob)

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  5. Great pictures of Gin & Syl and of Winnona practicely having Dad for lunch ;) Looks very sunny and bright for hikes and kayaking - fabulous!

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  6. When any service provider, e.g.. md, hospital, clinic or whoever, signs a contract with an insurance company whether it is Medicare or any others, they agree to accept what the insurance company pays. Mayo is lying to you when they say you must pay more. That practice is illegal and Mayo could be committing Medicare fraud. Confront them. So many people are not aware or afraid to confront that the practice continues.
    Good luck.

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  7. I think the most frustrating part of full-timing will be the medical stuff. Argghhh.

    Very good for Gin & Syl, and that all of you guys are there to share in the excitement!!

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  8. We recognized every step of that trail. We did it a bunch of times. From the park, go up stream to the theme park and float back. Put in at Ray's at least once- you are more likely to see monkey's between Ray's and the state park. We are excited for Gin and Syl as well. We will contact our Tampa Doc's and see about getting a recommendation for David. Have fun on the beautiful Silver River.

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  9. Wow! You did capture my moment of excitement. It was great to get a chance to visit with you two again. See ya at Hillsborough!
    Syl

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  10. I will be forced on to Medicare in two months. If the powers that be do not fix the formula for payments, it is only going to get worse. Soon no one will accept assignment and we will all be forced to pay the rest of what is "reasonable".

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  11. Great photos of Gin and Syl! It's awesome that there are so many of you down there to support and congratulate them on this new journey.

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  12. Congratulations on the slides and jacks. those pesky jacks can be such a pain in the patootie! Looks like good news for Gin and Syl. neat. And. I have photos from that same spot, but have never hauled my kayak to that put in. Mo and I did the river from the wayside and it was gorgeous and incredibly fast going back out so it isn't nearly as long as it sounds and it is soooo gorgeous the entire length, as well as the springs. Enjoy

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