Day 13 – Saturday

Today, after breakfast and some errands, I gassed up and took off on my 3 hour trip to Boca Raton. Interestingly the full tank at $3.33/gallon filled at 11:45 a.m. took me the 225 miles down and back. When I returned at 11:30 p.m. I tanked up again at $3.31/gallon; I now know a tank of gas can take me 450 miles (highway driving). With the long trip ahead, light traffic, and straight roads, I experimented with gas mileage. The road was level, the weather the same…even the wind and crosswinds were the same. Using the car’s computer that calculates instant gas mileage and cruise control, I found the following. At 75 mph (which is the slowest I was traveling) I was getting 24 miles to the gallon; at 70, I got 28 miles per gallon, and at 65, I got 32 miles to the gallon. No brainer, eh? Down here…or anywhere on I-95, however, you go 65 and you’re a traffic hazard.
Two other interesting events included passing eight Corvettes traveling together in the middle lane. Most were driven by gray haired guys; very impressive; different colors, different years, convertibles and non convertibles. They all exited the interstate at the same time and were headed for some club or get-together for Corvettes no doubt. The other interesting observation was catching a glimpse of a black Mustang convertible passing me. The dark skinned driver had a beige cap and black wrap around sunglasses and had to be doing 80 if I was cruising at 75. When he passed as is my habit, I checked out the license plates (down here they call them “tags”). It was a Florida plate and read I’m A-Rod No way, says I as I increased my speed to either pass him or drive to his right. Alas, not to be. He moved right along and soon departed at the exit marked Palm Bay. Then I figured I’d have to find out where and when the Yanks were playing. Maybe it was or maybe it was an A-Rod wanna-be.
Well, I left here at 11:45 a.m. got to Boca at 3pm, visited Larry till 5 p.m., picked up Norma and took her to dinner till 7:45, dropped her off at home so she could get a visit with Larry using her own car and I took off for Daytona and got back to the motel just about 12 hours later.
Mr. Garmin got me to the Boca Community Hospital with no trouble. I couldn’t imagine how I would find my cousin,. The hospital is huge, clean, modern, pleasant and I felt okay from the start (I don't like hospitals, you know). Made my way up to the 5th floor after they checked my license, took a photograph and then printed out a sticker for my shirt complete with black/white photo. Larry was awake and I had to use those examination gloves if I wanted to touch him as in shaking hands......a mask if I got close, and a gown if I was going to have sex with him....geeze the precautions. He was alert, glad to see me and except for the all day hiccups that really bothered him, he was in good spirits. I noticed right away in his eyes he was coming along and from what nurses told me when they came in and out for pills, blood, blood pressure, breathalyzer tests, after what he's gone through, he's an excellent patient. I got the message that in those first three days after surgery, he's lucky to be here at all. His leg muscles have atrophied to the point where if wanted to simply get up to sit in the chair, it's practically an all day job and very tiring. He says medically he's okay. Now they're planning to move him to another hospital in Lake Worth, about 30 minutes north for the next step which is the physical therapy. As you can imagine, he's not a happy camper regarding what he's dealing with and he's giving all he's got to take it day at a time. For me, personally, I felt a sense of relief imagining what it must have been like and what's ahead and seeing the alert sparkle in his eyes. I know I'm not in his bed socks...well, I kinda was at one point when my 'routine' gall bladder removal went awry, but he's lucky he's a fighter even with the long road ahead of him. I’m so glad I made the trip. Speaking was tiring for him so he made me do all the talking and I certainly had a lot to say about my trip and experiences. And, contrary to Goomba Sal’s assertion that my blog is the perfect sleep enhancer, he was very interested in what I had to say. I even asked if he wanted to nap while I was there, he said no. Ha!
I left about 5 p.m. to pick up Norma and take her to dinner. She made reservations at Maggiano’s Little Italy http://www.maggianos.com/foodbeverage/default.asp?menu=Dinner. It’s their favorite place. I’ve been there before when last I visited them in August of last year. Now the incredible thing about this place is their Family Menu which I’ve found isn’t listed on the website. For that you get a choice of two items for each of the four courses. The amazing thing about this is, in the listing of appetizers you can choose from about a dozen items, the pasta lists another 7-10 items as does the meat/fish entrée and the deserts. Moreover, one portion of each of these goodies is MORE than enough of one person. My salad, for example, would have served three people. I’ve never seen so much food served and the price for this spectacle is $25.00 per person. Needless to say, at Norma’s insistence, everything not eaten was nicely placed in aluminum tins and brought home….three mini shopping bags came home with me and put right into the refrigerator in my room till tomorrow where I’ll share it all with Patsy, Mya and the kids. Norma wants a report at the end of the day as to how Patsy and Mya enjoyed it all.
Well, if you’re still awake and reading this Sal, it’s time to go to sleep. It’s 1:30 a.m. and I’m ready.