Having a hospital trip mixed with a vacation isn’t that bad for us. Sadly, hospital trips were our vacations for over a decade! Since Amanda first got sick all those years ago, we only went on two trips for pleasure. One cruise, just after her first pacemaker, which I had to call to get approval from the doctor. The other was a trip to the Pacific coast of Mexico. During this time, the majority of my vacation time and personal leave time was used for hospital trips. Countless trips to Austin in the early years. Then Cleveland multiple times a year for almost five years with a long stent of a few months in the middle. Now, Houston trips for over a decade. We did make the best of the hospital trips, trying to go and see things that would fit our budget, which was minimal with growing medical costs. All that to say, mixing medical and pleasure is nothing new to us. Usually, splurging on food is our vice, tonight is a case in point: going out for a nice meal once we got to town!
Our first Heartiversary trip was much like this. We came to Houston for the one-year follow-up and then made our way to Tennessee to see the Smoky Mountains. That’s where we found our love of hiking. I remember that one-year follow-up being such a big deal. The cardiologist said many don’t make the one-year mark, and we could breathe a little easier. It was an excellent report to leave with and then go on our first vacation in a long time. It set the tone perfectly; I remember we had to get a picture of Amanda at a heart painted on a traffic signal box we would drive by often while we lived in Houston right after the transplant. It was such a good feeling to take that picture after the good report from the follow-up.
It may seem like we travel a lot now, but we’re making up for lost time. We lost a good portion of our twenties and all of my thirties to back-to-back hospital trips. I also worked two jobs during this time, and we even opened a restaurant. Later, I ran the tavern at our family restaurant while still holding the two other jobs. I also remodeled two homes, well, one and a half; we’re still working on the current home! So when we weren’t hospital traveling, I was nonstop working. Needless to say, we are enjoying every minute of our travels now. It may not be the best idea to put our money towards our travels versus buckling down and finishing our home, which is a top priority, but if we’ve learned anything in our health situation, tomorrow is not promised. That said, we prioritize experiences over the creature comforts we used to prioritize. We’re also pretty frugal on our trips as well, driving to our destinations, staying in reasonable Airbnbs, and cooking most of our meals. This 10-day heartiversary trip budget is only $500 more than a week-long hospital trip would cost to Cleveland 10 years ago. With inflation figured in, that’s not too bad!
It was a late night, packing and loading the Yukon till almost midnight last night, but still earlier than we usually are done. It didn’t help that we also cooked a few things to take as snacks at the last minute. We left later this morning than usual, too; that was a nice change. We got a good night’s sleep and left around 10:30. Actually, 10:26, four minutes earlier than our scheduled departure time, Amanda proudly pointed out as we were backed out of the driveway. As I packed the last thing in the car, the cookies I ordered for the heartiversary portion of the trip arrived. I planned a party for Amanda and got cookies; she’s not a fan of cakes the first year. I ordered too many, and we took the leftovers on the trip with us, taking pictures with them everywhere we ate them. So, it has been a tradition ever since to get cookies and bring them with us. The baker is so sweet and has become a dear friend who has had her own health battles.
The Yukon was packed pretty heavy on this trip. We packed a good bit. I even had a big suitcase loaded to the brim, but not so full that Amanda couldn’t fit a few of her extra jackets in it! The weather is going to be cold in the mornings and in the 50s and 60s during the day, so it’s all about layers. I love planning trips but loath planning what to pack, so I just throw stuff in a suitcase and figure it out later. I am completely capable of planning ahead and packing only in a carry-on size, but when we have room, I just stuff it and go! When we pack for cooking, that takes up lots of room as well. I even packed my smaller paella pan for a Spanish-inspired night. Yes, our menu was already planned out long ago; I guess planning what to cook and precisely what I need for cooking is more manageable than clothes for me.
The traffic through San Antonio was terrible, and thus, it put me in a bad mood from the get-go. I had already had it when, just before Bucee’s, a 4runner who had already cut me off tried again, so I just held my own, laid on the horn, and didn’t back down! I was done with traffic, and we weren’t even halfway to Houston. Amanda had to grab some makeup, and we needed to make a UPS return. So we did that, then headed to the Apple store in the Galleria Mall; I needed a warranty replacement of my phone’s screen protector. After that, we had dinner at one of our favorite places. It was a great dinner. We had a few of their new seasonal items, and everything was good. Minus the wait for the valet, our hotel check-in was seamless. I’d checked in with the app yesterday, so my mobile key was ready to go, and we just went straight to our room. Amanda did her nails, and I caught y’all up, then off to bed.