#WeekendCoffeeShare: On the Road

Published on by Yinglan

If we were having coffee, I would tell you good morning and thanks for joining me for another lovely weekend chat but I’m afraid we’ll have to take this on the road. You see, my mom is currently hosting two boys from China as they go to school here. One of them has to take his TOEFL today and I have to take him to the University of Utah solely on my mom’s words that I know the area better than her. So much for my Saturday sleep-in. 😒

Meanwhile, the weather had been disappointing this week. I found a post I wrote last year about spring being wet, I’m wrong, this spring is much wetter than the last one. It’s like the sky has a leaky lid. It’s been raining and hailing almost non-stop all week, destroying whatever plans I have to get out and collect some new photos.

So except for a few doctor’s appointments, I remained stuck at home. Oh and I have great news. I no longer need to see my dermatologist. She said my face is completely back to normal and I just have to be a good girl and keep up with my medication. It meant my skin lupus is better. Anyway, until next year, I have one less doctor to see.

Bad news, I might need surgery in my left hand. It’s been hurting for quite a while and my rheumatologist had ruled it carpal-tunnel. He recommended me to wear a brace last year. I’ve tried that and still the shooting pain and numbness just wouldn’t go away. So now, I’m being referred to a neurologist to do an exam and hopefully he/she can fix my hand without surgery.

If we were having coffee, I would tell you April is coming to an end which means it’s the end of the 2017 A-Z challenge. After participating the previous two years, I’ve decided to opt out the challenge this year due to my travels. I also opted out the challenge due to exhaustion. For some reason, I need more sleep nowadays than when I was in school. Strange! 🤔

I would also tell you there’s a possibility I will be absent for the next two weeks or so. My aunt and I are going on a 15-day🚗 road trip starting on Thursday, May 4. I don’t know the strength of the hotel wi-fi signals will allow me to post and whether I still have energy to post at the end of a long day. Here is the itinerary, organized by me: 😉😁

Day 1: Head up north to Lethridge, Alberta, Canada and spend the night
Day 2: Head from Lethridge to Lake Louise, Alberta, Canada where we will spend the next 7 days visiting four surrounding national parks – Banff, Jasper, Yoho, and Kootenay.
Day 3 – 8: Visiting surrounding national parks while lodging in Lake Louise.
Day 9: Give the parks one last glance before heading down to Waterton Lakes National Park by the U.S. border. After Waterton, we’ll drive another 2 hours to our next lodging in Great Falls, Montana.
Day 10: Head for the next destination – Mount Rushmore.
Day 11/12: See Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse Memorial as well as museums while lodging in Keystone, South Dakota.
Day 13: Leave Keystone for West Yellowstone, our next station.
Day 14/15: See Yellowstone and go home.

I’m both excited and nervous. I’m excited for the opportunity to collect some long-exposure photos and beautiful landscapes. Oh, and let’s not forget, I get to go to another country. I’m nervous because I don’t have a map or GPS. I’m getting to each destination solely by the Google Map directions I have written down and screenshots from Google Map. *sigh* Sometimes, I’m irritated I don’t have a phone with data usage and this will be one of those times. I feel like I’m going on this trip blind.

I hope I will have the chance to post some photos from my trip daily and keep this blog updated.

Lastly, if we were having coffee, I would thank you for joining me and hopefully I will join you next weekend in Lake Louise, Canada.

21 thoughts on “#WeekendCoffeeShare: On the Road”

  3. I had carpal-tunnel surgery on my right hand and it is a piece of cake. Easy surgery and quick healing! I need to have it done on my left hand and have made a note to talk to my physician about it the next time I see her. Your trip sounds fun! I look forward to seeing the photos you take during the trip.

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      4. Ouch, I don’t like scars. My doctor did a biopsy on my face last October and she said it won’t leave a scar but it did and the scar remains quite noticeable.

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  6. Hi Yinglan,
    Your trip sounds fantastic and I’m rather envious!
    I also have an auto-immune disease and before my diagnosis has noticeable carpule tunnel issues myself. Went away without surgery and also I’m not carting babies, baby capsules around either. Perhaps, there’s something aggravating yours.
    I’m looking forward to seeing your photos.
    I prefer paper maps to electronic, especially those big fold out tourist maps.
    That said, I went on a long drive to an unfamiliar place last week and I did miss my husband’s electronic map, which has a blue dot to show your location.
    Take care,
    xx Rowena

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    1. I don’t remember what started my carpal-tunnel. I just remember my hand just started hurting suddenly.
      I’m looking forward to taking photos for my trip. 🙂
      Thanks for visiting.

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