I started writing a blog in late 2019 as we began traveling in our motor home. The blog was a way for our friends and family to follow where we were and what we were doing. Earlier that year we had purchased an older motor home and done some traveling. We had great experiences visiting Prince Edward Island in Canada, Boothbay Harbor in Maine, and Lancaster County in Pennsylvania. Being in our early 70's, we said that it was time to take control of our journey through life. We decided to downsize drastically and travel the country extensively. This meant traveling full-time. The blog would be our way of having friends and family keep up with our exploits and maybe share some of our experiences with them.
Along came COVID. Everything was shut down, people out of work, discretionary activates curtailed. So controlling life's journey, not so much. We ended up playing 'snowbirds' for seven months in Silver Springs, Florida. When spring arrived, we headed back to New England to see family and prepare for a nine-month journey through the northwestern states and ending up in the RV mecca of the country, Quartzsite, Arizona for the winter. Upon returning from Florida in May 2021, Pam began exhibiting some significant health issues. The resulting diagnosis of dementia took control of our journey. While she received excellent medical care, they advised that we should not travel. The chaos and uncertainty of traveling would exacerbate her symptoms. We would also lose the significant support system afforded by our daughters living close by. And probable the most important, if something happened to me, she would be stranded and have limited ability to figure out what was happening.
I wrote what I thought would be the last entry for our blog in October 2021. A few months later it was reborn to record the journey as a patient and a caregiver. At times, it reflected her condition and how we were dealing with it. At times, it became very emotional as I struggled with the pain of watching my wife of fifty years slowly deteriorate. The final destination would be out of our hands, but the path we took to get there was not.
In June 2024, Pam lost her struggle with Lewy Body Dementia. This blog continued documenting my struggling with the grief. I guess there is little chance of controlling life's journey. The final entry was posted in March of 2025. But along the way, several people encouraged me to transform the blog into a book so that it might be available to help others. After almost one year of work, that book finally became a reality.
The blog is still available on-line. Just push the button...