A Wellness Check in the Sunshine State
Life as a nomad makes some things complicated, not difficult, just complicated. Things like mail, voter registration, doctors, licensing, etc. But lucky for us, we had all of those things ironed out in the first few months of being full-time RVers. However, just because we have them figured out, doesn’t make the logistics easy. You see our primary care doctor is located in Florida. So when our annual checkups come around every January, Florida is where we need to be. Even when we are wintering in Texas like this year. Yes, we could find a doctor in Texas or whatever state we happen to be in and have a well-check visit, but it feels good to have a doctor that knows your history, your lifestyle, and adds a bit of consistency to our health profile. Plus how bad is it really to HAVE to be in Florida in January!
Yes, our doctor's visit requires packing a suitcase!
The day after Christmas, we went for routine blood work so it would arrive in plenty of time to our doctor prior to our visit. After all, we didn’t really have the option to reschedule as we had flights booked (cheap, thank goodness for Southwest Airlines)! It’s not often you say to the person next to you on the flight that your reason for flying today is to go to the doctor! Plus, then you have to explain that no you don’t have a rare disease that is being treated by the only doctor that works with patients with this strange phenomenon. Lucky for us, we got a thumbs-up from the Doctor that we are healthy enough to live another year. Phew! Okay, so just like last year we should focus a little more on the greens and a little less on the ice cream and potato chips.
The reason we selected the doctor’s office we did in Florida is because our dear friends, Jay & Karen live minutes down the road. So, we just use our doctor as an excuse to need to go visit with them. We always have a fun time! They are definitely host & hostess with the most & mostess. They cart us to and from the airport and graciously turn the West Wing of the house into the R & B suite!
We flew into Tampa from Houston late Monday, just in time to watch the end of the exciting Georgia vs. Alabama football national championship game. Ironically that is not our first National Championship game we have watched at the Johnson/Malloy household. We do have a bit of a tradition going to visit Florida in January. Can you blame us? After sleeping late on Tuesday, we struggled to decide what to do. We decided on our usual of a walk through Jay & Karen’s neighborhood and down to the seawall where one of our Top 10 Photos of 2017 was taken. Russ and I are suckers for water views and have grown partial to these walks when staying in their Palm Harbor, Florida neighborhood.
We headed back and spent the afternoon relaxing in their tropical retreat of a backyard. I spent the afternoon swinging in the hammock without flipping over, which was a first for me in that hammock. Luckily, the weight I add to that hammock keeps it fairly close to the ground, so the fall is more of a rollout than a fall. The one and only time my big belly and thick thighs are a good thing!
We headed to Tarpon Springs for a lovely early dinner at Rusty Bellies. Good food, great views, and excellent company. It may have taken us all day to decide what to do and where to eat, but in the end we always end up making good decisions. We topped off the night with a backyard campfire, sitting around doing what we do best - reminiscing and laughing.
The next morning, Russ went for the traditional bike ride with Jay to Dunkin Donuts and I was again too lazy to get out of bed to take a walk with Karen. Next time we are walking the Causeway every morning, so add that to the calendar for our next visit. Next up for the day were our doctor’s appointment which was quick and painless. From there, we headed back to Jay & Karen’s, packed up our bags and headed for a late lunch before they dropped us off at the airport. Our travels went smoothly thanks to Southwest Airlines and Fast Park & Relax. After a two and a half hour drive from the airport to Port Lavaca, we were back home to Charlie. It was a quick, but enjoyable trip to “The Doctor” or as we like to call it “Florida”!
