Home Sweet Home & Grads Reunion
Let's see if I can find my way home from Portland. First off, we did find Costco for a bit of tax free shopping and a nail salon for Michelle, but as always the truck seemed to be running on its own will power and coaxed us north on I-5.
Ahhh, the smell of evergreens and the Northwest "Sunshine" to keep us company on this last leg.
Our last tank of gas and the Toyota seemed right at home on the home state highway. We left Mt. Hood in Oregon, but found Mt. Saint Helens right where we left her, and as we took our cutoff to Puyallup we had "The Mountain" (Mt. Rainier) "staying out" to greet us.
What a grand sight she is. We pulled in around 8:30 and as we unpacked, we started greeting some of the OSSG "Grads" who are getting together this weekend for the 2nd annual get together. Dinner last night and again tonight, with the greatest bunch of folks from around the country, some staying here in various borrowed campers and with other locals. It is a great way to finish off our trip, kinda like a homecoming.
FACTS AND FIGURES
Well, just a few stats from the trip:
Michelle and I have loved this trip so much. Everywhere we stopped, WE were blessed by the sharing of your stories, seeing your successes, making new friends, but most importantly, your hospitality and love. There is no way we will ever be able to repay the kindness shown to us. It is our hope that we have given you all some new and helpful information and encouragement so you can continue to battle the disease we all share.
Our wish is that you all find the quality of life you deserve and remain healthy. That you continue to teach your docs, by your success, and that you encourage others and help those who are struggling.
We thank each of you who hosted us, each one we had the chance to meet, and regret missing those we weren't able to see. Hugs to you all.
Thanks,
Mom & Dad Vitacouple
Almost home: On the Oregon Trail
This is our last full day on this wonderful trip. We hate the idea of getting home tomorrow, but Laura is threatening to quit if we don’t show up. On top of that, there are about 20 members from around the country, of the OSSG Graduate list going to be around over the weekend. I guess we have to get there some time. : ( Today we crossed Oregon from NE to NW. From Baker City to just east of Pendleton there is a wide variety scenery from farms to long mountain grades and deep gorge. 
(M: ah, but then it was green again. Gloriously green. Big trees, small trees, LOTS of trees. The hilly-looking things are hills with the big white things in the background being mountains, as is right and proper. I think we could see them all! 
Ordinary little campground, one hook up and there is a lady reading her home paper while we wait to download and get out by check out time. Again, our main problem on this trip has been just this: the ability to load/download, never mind going out and browsing the sites people have sent us. It’s a miracle we got the blogs out at all!) We met Jan, her mom Marta and Lorraine in Pendleton. 
Talked and talked and laughed but as always had to leave. Jan gave us a Vita Vegga Lucy Ball license plate which will be attached to the trailer once we get home. Thanks Jan for hosting us here. The closest place to home since we left 6 weeks ago. We followed the Columbia River on the north boundary of Oregon past three damns. 
How do they stop the river flow long enough for the concrete to get poured and dry? Past The Dalles damn is Multnomah Falls. The view is so spectacular, Michelle wanted to capture it in a cup and bring it home. 
I don’t think you can read it but the cups have our logo on one side and our name on the other. Compliments of Jac. Hugs girl. We finally arrived in Portland and set up, put my feet up and said “This is the good life, honey. What would like to do?” Wrong question to ask Michelle when she still has energy to burn. AFTER the trailer and truck got washed, then we have a protein shake treat. Ed. note: or how about *during* the wash: 
Well tomorrow is it. Back to work, no more goofing off. We will just have to live for a year on the memories of the voices, faces, mannerisms and love we saw on this wonderful journey. Honest, Laura, we’ll be home tomorrow.
From dirt to the Rockies to hailstones: Denver to Wyoming
Never listen to the locals, OK? Sound advice when asking directions from the Eagle Canyon Hideaway. It was either 25 miles (outside of Ogallala) of county maintained dirt road (which we bumped and ground over going in) and 25 miles highway to Rock Springs or 5 miles of dirt road and 25 miles to Rock Springs. Big choice, right? Well we took the latter and it took forever, and the several herd of cattle looking at us like, “What are you doing in our pasture, city boy? And you BETTER leave my girls alone, humph!!! And keep that cowboy hat to yourself. WE KNOW the difference.” 
We saw no other life, other than buzzards (which were smiling) who were wondering which local back in Eagle Canyon they would have to pay off. We figured the locals got a cut from sending out “fresh meat” to wander endlessly.
We had some cabinet problems with the camper and stopped at Camping World. After several hours delay we finally hit the road with cabinet drawers sitting on the trailer floor. At least I got to use my new cordless driver. As we drove into Denver there are 4 or 5 domes off to the left. Does any one know what they are? 
Michelle said Texan golf balls. We also got our first view of the Rockies and downtown Denver. Denver is actually smaller than we thought. It is beautiful though. We expected more rugged landscape, but it was more rolling soft hills. It’s very different than the Northwest’s Cascade mountain range. 
(M: When we go UP, we go UP and twist and turn and SEE the sheer drops. With CO, you think you are driving flat and are astounded to find yourself at 5,000 ft without ever having seen a curve or a drop or an incline. You hear the motor labor and the MPG drop, but feel no rise.) Folks we met in Denver: 
Posing with Sue and Cindy in Denver. Moving on, I was experiencing high wind and all of a sudden the temp dropped from 104 to low 60’s in like 20 minutes as we approached the Wyoming border from CO. Off to the northeast a storm was brewing.
No problem, right? We are headed west. We pulled in to get gas and while Michelle was looking for postcards it started coming down. Hail and horizontal rain drove us to take shelter at the WY info center. Michelle went looking for a map and the info center lost power because of the storm. (M: that grape sized hail was pelting my tank top and shorts with ferocity!) The storm did pass but it became really apparent we wouldn’t make Rock Springs so had to make alternate arrangements to stay in Rawlins. This is the first time we didn’t make the campground destination. Not bad for 7600 miles, huh. On our way toward Rawlins we stopped to potty and ran into this Red Bull advertising truck. 
They were offering free samples but we had to shy away. No sugar free, right? Wrong. SUGAR FREE RED BULL ENERGY DRINK. We traded for some ProScore samples. The guy was a “high quality” protein user and never heard of Champion or ProScore. Another convert in the making. (M: I stopped to take pix for Tina since I thought it a rather unique paint job for her new trucklet. I took pix of what appeared to be a tiny prairie dog, but the Red Bull people said it was a ground squirrel, brown, itty bitty short tail. They’re nothing like our PNW grey squirrels who have regular contests for the proudest plume of a tail! Anyway, this is a young fit guy ‘n girl who travel the rest areas passing out freebies to promote driver awareness and keep people awake on these long flat roads. They were not allowed to have their pix taken with the truck, but were delighted with us taking pix of the truck itself.) Michelle found a guy who had been road biking. She spotted two Champion sports bottles on his bike. No, he didn’t know about ProScore. Convert number two in the making. (M: He uses some of their recovery products (way too high in sugars for us). But when I saw him biking, I offered him a protein. I mean, someone might else offer protein, but a truck full of protein is what I had as a social gesture. Lol. He bikes the 48 miles out and back to Cheyenne regularly and had never heard of ProScore 100, an excellent endurance product. I hope we fixed THAT little oversight!) The Lincoln monument at this stop was not as impressive as the one we saw earlier this trip, but was nice. 
We pulled into Rawlins with enough time to grab a late dinner, set up and hit the sack. Tomorrow we head for Jackson, WY for a couple of days off and to do laundry. See ya then. Thanks, Don Curran
Traversing the heartland
We’re off to Nebraska. Up I-80 toward Lincoln, NE, we went into Iowa and found different kinds of farms. Rolling hills, a lot of cattle and grazing. Hmm. The cattle graze all day and just look at them. How similar to us. We graze and gain weight, too. Interesting. OK, no more grazing for me. 
Now we finally get into Nebraska. There are more old established farms, it seems. 
We arrived at Deb’s home in Lincoln and dropped the trailer. While getting ready to hit Omaha, I guess the heat got to me or I had a hypoglycemic attack. It unfortunately delayed us from leaving, causing us to be late getting to the seminar/tasting that Julie had arranged. We are so sorry to have missed meeting those who could not wait. We hate it when this happens, but things can happen. With the time we had I hurriedly set up a tasting bar, while Michelle spoke on nutritional issues and fielded questions. There aren’t many pictures because they kept me hopping, mixing and shaking. Before we left, Dr. Anthone, stopped by to meet Michelle and talk about her ideas. We were thrilled to have met him as well as all the gals that came. I do hope there was something gained in such a short time. 
We got on the road back to Lincoln to meet Deb and spend some time with her and Gordon, before retiring. We were able to sleep in and got moving around 10:00. We washed the truck, reorganized the stock and cleaned the trailer just before the Evert’s got home from work and started to BBQ. They gave us full rein to investigate their home, and man oh man, did I hit pay dirt. Gordon has a shop that I would give my eye teeth for. Perhaps one day, I’ll be able to get my tools available to use. Sighhhhh!!!!!! (M: he HAS the tools, but they are, sadly, boxed up and stored) We had gals showing up in the afternoon and had a wonderful time relaxing, eating and sharing stories. We met some special gals. Linda came early and had to leave, DeeAnn came for awhile to cheer on Deb, as she is her best bud and cheerleader. Melissa and her husband, Jeff, brought their daughters Meagan and Sadie. If you have the chance, get to meet this special family. 
We also met the Evert’s dogs, Jewel and Sammy. Sammy is pretty shy, but Jewel is a cool dog. 
I was also treated to a beautiful Nebraska sunset. 
It was so peaceful here. Michelle loved being here as did I. We have some wonderful memories, now of rural America, ala Nebraska. (M: everything about this is perfect, except the HEAT. Oh, maybe a teensy bit short on mountains and oceans, but I pretended like they were just beyond the corn) But, we did have to move on and arranged to have lunch with Melissa. We couldn’t get enough of her and Sadie. 
We hit Gothenberg, NE and spent a few minutes looking for the Pony Express Station there. Wow ,it was nice to see this quaint town and this piece of history. 
Oh by the way, if you stop there, look for Buttons. He or She is worth the hunt. 
OK on to the campground in Ogalala, NE. It’s further off the highway than we expected, but had some great views of Lake McConaghy. We went for a swim in the camp pool (cold), had steaks for dinner and popped in a DVD. Even spent some time answering email and now off to bed. Nitey nite all. We are on our way to Denver tomorrow. See ya there.
I have a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore... oh wait - yes we are.
Someone better give me a map. Where IS Kansas City, anyway? Is it Kansas or Missouri? Let Michelle know, because she is navigating. I can’t get her to drive since she fished the trailer back in the first part of the trip. This leg would have been an easy drive for her. Biggest hills are made by ants and there was just very little wind to contend with. It was an easy drive and good gas mileage for a change. It’s wonderful seeing all the aspects of this country’s countryside. It truly is a beautiful country. It is hard to fathom the vastness. How one state is hilly, another mountainous, some filled with swamps and lakes or rivers, and some flat, just fills me with wonder of its creation. 
We met our Kansas City group at the Machine Shed in Olathe, KS. Barb wasn’t sure of how many would come out, and we were certainly overcome by the group’s size. They even behaved very well, even though it was a mixed MO & KS group. Barb, you can be proud of ‘em. LOL. Again, Michelle taught and they convinced me to get behind the bar and mix a few. We hope all had a good time, because we sure did. 
Barb returned us to our trailer and we just collapsed. Off to bed for an early up to get jump on Omaha. Thanks, Don Curran
Everyone's OK in Oklahoma
Heading to Oklahoma, brings through downtown Dallas, which by the way goes on for ever. There are some beautiful buildings in the downtown area. If you haven’t figured it out, I love to see the skylines and buildings in these towns. Some are so different than we have seen before. Old and new architecture mixed together giving towns their own distinctive feel. 
Well we hit OKC and planted the trailer in Jac’s yard. They have horses and dogs enough to satisfy our instinct to pet animals.
Once we set up and settled in off we went to Mr. Tee’s for BBQ ribs. Real good cookin’. Great place for good food and conversation. Went back home to grapple with the conmputers.Back to Norman, where Connie arranged for us to hold a seminar and a tasting in the Norman Regional auditorium. I have to say, Michelle looked real comfy talking about nutritional needs and answering many a question.
This was a big group but well behaved (kinda) and very interested in all the information shared. Thanks Connie, for your efforts.Jim, her husband and Jac helped set up the tasting and shot pictures while I went crazy, playing bartender.
After we got cleaned up, Jim, Connie, Jac, Michelle and I slipped into a Mexican restaurant and spent some time catching up.
Connie was another of Dr. Oh’s revisions and she also stayed with us. She, too is an eye full of thin beauty and lotsa fun, too.
OK time to head out and plan our trip into Kansas City. It’s an early up and this is our anniversary. Yep 17 years to the same guy. She deserves a medal, but she gave me a rose.
She is so dang cute.
I love you babe. (M: I love you, too, you know)See ya’ll in Kansas City. Thanks,Don Curran
The stars at night are big and bright.... (you know the rest)
Everything in Texas is big. Including the road ruts. Man, you gotta fix these roads. Concrete is for buildings, not roads. Asphalt would probably melt here though. So I guess we’ll just have to get kidney belts and tough it out. If it weren’t for the heat and the roads, I think I fell in love. The people here are so nice, even if they couldn’t understand us. We beat out the storm that hit Louisiana but did get a nice thunder storm. When we got to Houston, I was so tired and unfortunately, didn’t take a lot of pictures. I guess we’ll just have to come back? The group in Houston was small, but very intent in hearing. I set up the protein bar and Michelle shared her knowledge.
The next day we met Adelfa, Enrique and two of their beautiful daughters.
We had lunch and talked and talked and laughed and talked some more. I think we met a couple that are as publicly affectionate as we are.
We have to find a way to get product into Mexico and Canada, legally and economically. Adelfa is going to do some research for us. We stayed at Beth’s while in Houston, planning on catching up, but we got side tracked at Kohl’s on the way back after meeting Adelfa. Beth and I were having Michelle try on all kinds of outfits. I’m sure Beth will add to this so I won’t spoil her story. Just say that I’m not shopping with these two for a while. Can you say “POWER SHOP” before I can pull out my credit card? OK Beth, your turn to embarrass me. LOL Does she ever have stories to tell?
OK, we have to say good bye to Gretchen and Beth (and Brent, Mr. Beth, a charming host) and make sure we get on the right roads. 
On to Dallas, TX. We met KarenD and some of the local gals. I think I got pictures of us all, even a self-portrait.
I can still see the spots.
We enjoyed dinner together then most of us retired to Karen’s home for more intimate conversations. Mine was with the computers and it wasn’t very nice. Karen took us back to the park we were staying at and I hope made it home. She made a few turns that weren’t familiar and her gas light came on while trying to find the camp site. Hey Karen, did ya make it home? The next day we were able to see how beautiful this camp ground is. I would definitely stay here again. However I don’t know how they came up with the name Cedar Hill? Those were cedar shrubs, not trees. 
From Texas to Oklahoma City and Norman, OK. More about that leg later.(M: Karen’s people were darling, of course. Robi was there, too) Thanks,Don Curran
Getting caught up! FL to LA
Well, we are still having trouble with communications, so I haven’t been keeping the blog up. Actually, we are having too much fun with all these beautiful people we are meeting. Time to write is limited because we do have to get some sleep. We just got back to Jac’s home in OKC from the meeting in Norman, OK. Michelle is resting so I am going to try and catch up.Since I wrote last, we have been to, Crestview, FL and met Pam from Niceville.
We met Ivan who is on our Return Policy page. This is one BIG putty cat. I love Maine Coons. You can get lost in their fur for days.
Pam keeps her roses displayed on her book case. I wonder why she didn’t enter the contest?
We looked over trip pictures and sadly had to leave.Back on the road toward Mobile, AL.
Pretty city, but I wasn’t to sure about going under the river in a tunnel. I never signed up for submarine duty.
We pitched our tent in Theodore, AL, where we met some interesting folk in the camp ground. There was a basset hound running around inspecting everyone. That’s a story that isn’t appropriate for mixed company, LOL.Next day we headed for Lafayette, LA to meet beetlebuug. On the way we saw some beautiful scenes. Mississippi rest stops,
the City of Biloxi
and even the Louisiana swampland have their charm to this old Yankee boy.
On arriving in Lafayette and being rescued by her husband, Carol opened her home to us and provided a wonderful BBQ. This was a great, warm buncha ladies and guys. So here is the group then John (Carol’s hubby) & Dan.
Oscar & the calico queen were much fun, but like every day it comes to an end. Carol and Michelle become fast friends. I always hate having to leave.
On the way out of town we met up with Dottie. She is one of our Distal Revisions.
She came to Washington, stayed with us and Dr. Oh did her revision. How wonderful it was to see how beautiful she has become (not that she wasn’t to start with). (M: her skin is TO DIE—how does she do that?)OK, Texas bound. Yee Haw!!!!!! M: I hate the leaving part. 8-(Thanks,Don Curran
On to Bradenton! Cute kids, a great group, and a salad.
One of the highlights of this trip was to see my sister Anita, niece Cyndi Lee, and her children, Kamryn and Nathan. They live in Bradenton and they came to the campground to see us. We are originally from Upstate NY and they now live in Bradenton. Unfortunately Ben (Cyndi’s hubby) had to work so we were not able to have him join us. We had a nice visit, but had to end way too soon.Hey sis and Cyndi, if you’re reading this, I love ya. Hugs for every one, OK? The flowers from the kids survived the trip to Tallahassee and look good on the table.
Patricia organized a dinner in Bradenton at Crispers.
I have to say the manager and staff were as wonderful as the food. If you get the chance, it’s a good place to have a meal and conversation.
There were a lot of people here, some we have met before, like Sheri, Patricia, Paulette, Lynn and Bill. We made lotsa new friends, pre-op Mike, Ed, Denise and on and on and on.
We talked and chatted and shared and giggled and ate and finally got kicked out at 9:00 (gently, I might add). Some stayed after and talked outside and finally we had to give up. Man, was I ever tired. So back to the trailer and into bed. Nite all !!!! (M: I really enjoyed this stop and wish we’d had more time. Felt as if I just got there and was being hustled out the door! By Don!)
Halftime is over
It has been a tough week, here at the conference. Michelle split time between classes and at the booth. I spent the day Tuesday with Steve, Rene and Toni from Champion. Wednesday, Steve went out early and Rene went home Thursday AM, leaving Toni, Michelle and I to end the conference on Thursday. I always learn more about product working with the Pros. Breaking down the both with Toni was great. She is such a hard worker. 
Tuesday night we attended a get together “Welcome” party. A big blow out affair and spent quite a bit of time talking with doc’s and other vendors. This is always ends up as a pretty heavy drinking deal, so Michelle and I leave early. However, Michelle was talking to Dr Rumbaut (from Mexico). He is a good friend who has been placing bands for some time and also does other surgeries. Nice guy. Anyway he introduced Michelle to the President of the Mexican equivalent of the ASBS. After the introduction he honored her with a personal invitation to attend their 2007 conference in Cancun, Mexico. WHOOO was I impressed. (no, we ain’t drivin’)We made some great contacts and discussed our nutritional thoughts with a lot of doc’s, RD’s, program directors, nurses and any one who would stand still for 5 minutes. I think we made some impact and I noticed even less reluctance than we have seen in the past. Times are a changin’.Well, we have the trailer packed and are ready to head for Bradenton tomorrow morning. I get to see my sister Anita, and niece before the meeting that Patricia has arranged. So here we go, heading home (kinda). I just sent Michelle off to bed, a bit cranky, with the last of her bottle of water, so I better go soothe the savaged soul. I think she is really angry at my taking her picture tonight. God love her.
(M: Angry? Why should I be angry? Just because I had already left the land of he living except for getting into the actual bed….? Heck no, I love seeing pix likes this. Reminds me how ancient I am so I can WAKE UP CRANKY, TOO!)Thanks,Don Curran
