52 Days and Counting

November 11, 2011 (11-11-11) is approaching quickly! My list of chores, errands, and needed acquisitions is getting longer! Still need to get courtesy flags, charts of the Bahamas, and organize more storage spaces. I need new deep-cell batteries, change the filters, and decide whether I need a folding bike or not. All in 52 days...

I'm excited that my brother Rick and nephew Ryan are going to sail with me, and sister-in-law Suzanne and niece Cali will fly down to visit. All will be perfect when Kim can fly down after her family cruise on a "big" boat!

Back to my list of list...fair winds!!

France and Ireland 2011

Just returned from a great couple weeks visiting our friends David and Laurie and playing with their two kids and two dogs.

As always Paris is a beautiful city with incredible sites...but our side trip this year was exceptionally entertaining...Dublin, Ireland.

Ireland is full of fun,happy Guinness drinking folks. Regardless of where we went, people were singing, playing and drinking Guinness.

Kissing the Blarney Stone was a one-day trip to Cork worth taking, as was the amphibious Viking tour in downtown Dublin. The girls liked the Christchurch cathedral and the boys loved the Guinness Brewery (especially the big boys!)

Paris and Dublin are high on my "Kodak moments" list, made even more special with the help of old friends!

Hypothyroidism and Gout

I don't know exactly how the two intertwine, but the pains in my joints are the result of high uric acid levels (gout), not Hashimoto's.

While having three beers at the New Orleans Yacht Club on Saturday, July 29th, my right ankle started to hurt as if I had sprained it. I blamed it on the shoes I was wearing, and threatened to throw them away. Sunday morning it was unbearable and Monday I couldn't walk. Tuesday I went in to see Dr Mary, and was diagnosed with gout...disease two in a month!

Looking back, I can see the disease progressing. Memorial weekend at Pontchartrain Yacht Club was the first time I had swelling and pain in my right big toe. Other occurrences happened simultaneously with the Hashimoto's flare-up, so I lumped them all together.

Unfortunately, the gout seems to be directly related to beer consumption. Although I drank very little in June & July, I did drink five nights in a row before this last bout. Tuesday with Derek, Wednesday at Melius, Thursday and Friday with Kim & Laurie, and Saturday at the club. Uric acid levels rise, pain sets in, and it took over a week to be relatively pain-free.

I've been experimenting with a home remedy of apple cidar vinegar. Seems to ward off the pain til late evening, thus making the gout manageable. I'm trying real hard to alter food & drink rather than beginning new medications.

So far, so good...

Office Biggest Loser Contest

It's time again for an office "biggest loser" contest. My starting weight is 269.5 pounds, and my goal is to lose 20 pounds in the next 30 days.

I met with Dr. Chuck Mary yesterday, and he is going to help me in my weight loss goal. He's going to help me try to get off all my medications within three months, with the deadline being when we go cruising.

Dr. Mary also doubled my thyroid hormone medication yesterday, so that should also help with weight loss.

Happy Fourth of July!

What a wonderful Fourth of July. Slept in late, did some backyard work in beautiful weather, had a wonderful dinner with friends, and finished the day watching fireworks from the sailboat. Even took a quick dip in Lake Pontchartrain.

Guess I'm ready to go back to work tomorrow…

French Quarter Bike Ride

Pain and symptom free today!

Met Jim at the marina at 8:30 AM. Took Robert E Lee Boulevard to Marconi and through City Park for a nice relaxing ride to the French Quarter. Rode over to the Algiers ferry, decided to save a river crossing for the next trip. Stopped and grabbed a quick cold one on Bourbon Street, before heading back to the marina. 18.3 miles in just under two hours.

Feel good, losing weight, looking forward to Paris in August.

La Aventura 11-11-11

Nineteen weeks and counting...a little over 4 months...crunch time for taking a sabbatical to sail the eastern coast of Central America. New Orleans to Isla Mujeres, Mexico. Caye Caulker, Belize. Roatan, Honduras. Puerto Limon, Costa Rica. Bocas del Toro, Panama.

So much to do, so little time!

Two Oceans, One Day

Can you swim in two oceans...in one day... with no air travel involved? Yes! In Panama!

The goal was to visit marinas in the Bocas del Toro islands of Panama, not create a livelong memory. The adventure was supposed to come later when I sailed from New Orleans.

Early one morning, we left El Panama Hotel to visit Playa La Angosta on the Caribbean, an easy hour drive even during rush hour traffic.

After a brief swim, back into the van and headed for the Pacific. We found a nice black sand beach near Coronado an hour and a half later for another swim.

Two oceans...one morning...lifetime memory...

Spoke too soon...

Woke up after a heavenly 8 hour sleep to find small bumps reoccurring on my forehead, a spot on my right stomach, and my right toes tingling. Similiar symptoms to the last few weeks, but much less drastic. Well, back to the doctor...

Hashimoto's Disease

Quick update to catch everyone up with the ordeal Kim & I have been dealing with the last 3 weeks… After initially being mis-diagnosed at the ER with a severe reaction to a caterpillar bite June 7th, then given as many as 12 different meds to handle my "allergy" reactions on visits to the ER on June 14th, 18th and ambulance ride on the 22nd (yes, 4 ER visits in 2 weeks!), I was finally diagnosed and began thyroid treatments for Hashimoto's Disease, or hypothroidism on Monday. I'm already feeling better and all swelling has gone. I'm relaxing the remainder of the week and returning to work after the 4th of July. Non-life-threatening, just need to take a pill a day…. Thank you for all your prayers and good wishes! See all y’all soon!