Safely Arrived in Bethesda

An uneventful, actually quite pleasant, cross country drive.
We left Sandpoint on the 1st of May, and our first stop was a mere 25 miles away in Heron, MT where Natty gave us a nice tour of the school he's been teaching at for the last year (www.monarchschool.com)and we had a lunch with him and some of the students. Six hours later we were in Bozeman, MT. We stayed with former Sandpoint friends Karl and Karen, had a nice hike with them the next morning and lunch at their local food co-op. We got in about nine more hours driving before bedding down in a motel in Dickinson, ND. On the 3rd we made it all the way to Minneapolis to stay at Mary Catherine's sister Elizabeth's. We rode the light rail downtown with her husband Mark, an accomplished actor, who gave us a tour of the famous Guthrie Theatre.
Next day we reached Chicago (Bernie - another sister of Mary Catherine - she has 6, plus 4 brothers), with a lunch stop in Madison, WI to visit our niece Jessica. Bernie and Terry treated us to barbecued chicken, homemade fettucine with fresh morel mushroom sauce, and a killer chocolate pudding dessert.
On the Cinqo de Mayo we took sister Barbara and husband Tom out for good Mexican food in Cleveland. The next day we explored the local Arboretum catching the peak blooming of the dogwoods, crabapple trees, and lilacs.
We arrived in Bethesda yesterday, marveling at our consistent luck with the weather on this trip. We literally had clear skies and tailwinds all the way. (Compared to 2005 when we encountered level 5 thunderstorms and tornadoes in Wisconsin and Minnesota!) I like seeing this is an omen that things are going my way this time.

I couldn't resist stopping at the headquarters of AOPA (Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association) in Frederick, MD, just outside Bethesda for a quick personal tour on our final leg yesterday. For a pilot this is as close to Mecca as it gets. (Mary Catherine certainly is a very understanding spouse, though I should note that Tom and I waited nearly an hour the day before while she and Barbara visited the County Herb Society!)

Lab and clinic today. Admission, PICC line (a type of central line that is inserted in the arm) and overnight IV hydration tomorrow. The "clean out" dose of Chemo (Melphalan) is on Saturday (Day T-2; transplant day is T0). I began a fast today in preparation. There's some preliminary evidence that fasting at least 48 hours before chemo may decrease side effects and increase efficacy. All of you know how much I appreciate food, so this is difficult for me, ...but I'm hanging in there!