It’s Sunday, April 18th. The day has arrived! Megan has had her casts on for six weeks and it’s time to get them off. We make the 275-mile drive back to Boise today! 6 AM tomorrow morning Megan will check in to St. Luke’s Hospital for surgery to remove the pin in her left foot. Then another cast goes on her left foot for 4 more weeks. The cast on her right foot comes off completely. She will be able to walk!
It’s noon now and we are loaded up, ready to go. Megan and Rudy are in the back. We have purchased a harness for Rudy and strapped him in next to Megan. Good dog!
Except he hates it. He tells us by whining, yipping, and howling through the first 45 minutes of our drive. We stand our ground. He must stay in the back, in his harness. After all, he’s a dog and we are his masters.
Until we relent and finally let him have his way. He knows where he belongs – on the console between the two front seats – to help drive. He spots dogs, squirrels, pedestrians, bicyclists and blowing leaves ahead and and lets us know by leaping across the car frantically yelping at them through the window as they pass. This is why we tether him now. He could sail like a missile across the interior of a car traveling at 80 mph, especially if we have to slow down suddenly. So we have tethered him at his post and yes, he is helping David drive.
We shoot to Boise across I-84, making it in four hours, and check into our motel. We enjoy a lovely dinner outside on the front patio of a restaurant in downtown Boise. Here is a picture of Megan at dinner:
The girl at the table behind her posed for the photo, too, because she knows what a special evening this is.
Megan took a picture of us sitting across from her:
… Big ‘D’ and me. Why does he look so much bigger than me?
After dinner we take a stroll downtown. The weather is exquisite with temperatures near 80 degrees. We pause at the fountain in the square –
And walk to the Capitol building a few blocks away:
Back at the motel I get the worst night’s sleep ever. The room is too hot (or were my hot flashes too hot?), the bed too soft, and all night I worry in the haze of my semi-sleep about having to be awake by five, to get her to the hospital by six.
But we pull it off. Here she is at 6:15 am, her usual cheerful self, waiting to be admitted:
She’s gone into surgery now. David and I grab the time to take a walk outside around the hospital. And discover this garden –
transplanted from Holland? Wow! Spring is sprung in Boise, Idaho! David checked out the aroma of this tree:
Does a cousin of the southern magnolia thrive here too?
Megan’s surgery went beautifully. Here she is in recovery, sleepy, but happy.
Who says hospital gowns don’t look sexy?
We check out of the Hospital by 11 AM and decide to grab lunch downtown.
A perfect pair, we are at lunch – Megan, sedated, and I, sleep-deprived. But we do enjoy lunch. Next, we return to the car to head for home. But wait! The dog! He’s been cooped up in the car most of today and will surely give us fits on the long drive home if he doesn’t get some exercise.
So last stop – Ann Morrison Park, home to a fabulous Frisbee golf course. Megan is not so enthusiastic about the Frisbee golfers, or the walk-
However, the exuberance she lacks has been tamped down but is now overflowing in Rudy.
… fetching the tennis ball. We walked about a quarter mile, while he ran a good two miles, retrieving that ball.
The flowering crab (?) trees are putting on a show as well:
Spring here is unfolding a good three to four weeks ahead of Idaho Falls, where winter can, more likely than not, turn to ‘sprinter’, with spring arriving so late you’re into summer by the time you even notice the trees.
Anyway, it was time now to head back to the car
through this beautiful park, savoring the sights, sounds, and smells of spring.
And hit the highway for our 4-hour trek home.
Megan and Rudy are in the back seat again, ready to go.
Yeah, like that’s gonna fly. How long do you think Rudy will last tethered to the back seat?
It lasted about three blocks.
He’s gotta help David drive.
Do you wanna hear about our trek home?
The Decompression of a Boomer 
April 22, 2010 at 2:53 am |
I loved the pictures of the tulips and flowering trees in Boise. If was fun to see Rudy being Dave’s co-pilot. Thanks for sharing!