Next on our medical agenda is Wiley's deep brain stimulator surgery on August 29. He's been a real trouper throughout my ordeal, now it's his turn. He's actually looking forward to the surgery because his experience with the first implant has been so good. It has enabled him to take less medication. The medication causes some side effects, so he's really looking forward to taking less.
After Wiley's surgery, I'll have outpatient "surgery" (it's actually a form of radiation) on a growth on my auditory nerve. I've had a loss of hearing in my left ear caused by an acoustic neuroma, which is a noncancerous, slow growing tumor. The surgery will save the remaining hearing in that ear and prevent future problems that might be caused by the tumor.
We'll be taking off on September 1 and ditching all the appointments for a trip to Michigan. First we'll stop for a visit in Ypsilanti with my son, Tom, and his family. Then we'll head for Upper Peninsula, Michigan for a tour of the great north woods. We'll return to Florida by way of Boone, NC, and a visit with all our friends at the KOA there. We haven't found a position in Florida for next winter, but we hope to do so soon. If we don't find anything, we'll still plan to say in Florida next winter.
Here are a few pictures from our little adventures over the past month or so. We did a short kayak trip on Spruce Creek. This lovely fellow was walking the parking lot, looking for a pretty friend.
We enjoyed live music and fireworks right here in our campground on July 4th. It's been extremely hot and humid (even by Florida standards) here, but at least we've had some rain. There were a couple of years recently where all fireworks were banned for fear of fire.
We celebrated Mag's birthday with dinner out and birthday cake. That's Mag, Cathy, Katelyn and David. Lookin' good, Mag!
We've been over to New Smyrna Beach a couple of times lately. I never thought I'd like a beach where people are allowed to drive, but I must admit it's very convenient when it's hot and you have a lot to carry to be able to drive right to the spot where you want to set up. On the way back from a recent trip to the beach, we passed the ruins of Andrew Turnbull's home. Some of Wiley's ancestors were among the Minorcans recruited in 1766 by Turnbull to raise indigo, rice and hemp for export to England. When the Spanish took Florida from the British, Wiley's family walked from New Smyrna to St. Augustine (and eventually to San Mateo) and established homes of their own.
Our most recent adventure was a trip to Ft. Myers with our niece, Katelyn (age 13). We had a great campsite on Ft. Myers Beach. The back end of the camper was almost hanging out over the water. We enjoyed some kayaking and a day at Sanibel. Katelyn found some great shells. We visited the shell museum while we were there. Katelyn is very artistic and I think she's going to make some sailor's valentines like the ones we saw at the museum. Check out this website for some gorgeous sailor's valentines.
Katelyn was a very good guest. She even indulged Aunt Joyce with a ride on the Ding Darling wildlife trail. We saw roseate spoonbills, which is a 
rather rare treat.We also took a tour of the winter homes of Thomas Edison and Henry Ford. These brilliant men were great friends and their modest homes were side-by-side on the Calloosahatchee River. The grounds are planted with lots of exotic kinds of trees that Edison was experimenting with to try to discover an alternate source of rubber.
This giant banyan tree is a Florida record setter. It was given to Edison by Harvey Firestone in 1925. It was only 4 feet tall at the time. Now it's 60 feet tall and 400 feet in diameter!
Highlights of the tour, in addition to the gardens, were the vintage automobiles, laboratory where Edison worked on some of his inventions, including the phonograph and electric lights.
A final treat was a visit to Everglades Wonder Gardens, which is an old roadsite attraction. There were a number of rescued Florida critters and some interesting plants. This otter was extremely cute. We loved the way it used its paws on the sides of the slide to slow its descent long enough to catch the fish thrown by the guide!Katelyn was a good guest and we hope to take some more trips together this winter.
That's all for now. Stay tuned for a blog following my trip this weekend with Mag and Cathy to Savannah!
