Forest City, Iowa, #4

Well our motorhome did not get finished on Thursday as we had hoped; we had to go back to the service center on Friday at 6:00am. So at 6:00am over we went, dogs and all again. This time they did get it finished and we were back at our site at the GNR by 3:30. It felt good to finally get set up for the remainder of the time. Our motorhome is the center motorhome in the first picture. Friday evening we all went over for the beginning of Puckerbrush Days in the town of Forest City. They were serving pork sandwiches and fresh corn on the cob in front of the town square. There was music and the businesses of Forest City had what they call the Battle of the Businesses (relay races) in the middle of Main Street. We met folks that we had met here back in 2003, Sandy and Jack, who are locals and had invited us to eat our dinner inside the American Legion Club where we could eat at tables and watch the Battle of the Businesses from inside. After our dinner, we went back outside and finished watching the activities. Saturday, the town had a parade and cooked chickens and beans along one of the side streets. They had vendors on the town square and pie and ice cream social in one of the churches off of main street. They had mini tractor pulls for the little kids that was sooo cute. Each kid (4-5 year olds) got a ribbon and a bottle of water just for trying and this one little boy was so excited when he found out he won 2nd place; he was whooping and yelling and holding his trophy up in the air -- it was so cute you would of thought he won a million dollars. (Of course, I forgot my camera for this small town USA event -- I was so mad at myself). That evening, all the RVrs from Virginia got together for a steak dinner at the Branding Iron restaurant about 10 miles out of town. (See pics above). So we had a pretty full day. Sunday proved to be an exciting day for us. Jim got up early to make a Wal Mart trip at 7:30am and he took our dog, Bono for a ride. Well about 10:00am one of our friends, Sue came over to tell me Jim was trying to reach me (I had my cell phone off of course). So I got on her phone and it turns out he had to go to the Emergency Room in Mason City (40 mi away from GNR). He said he had severe stomach pain; so bad he couldn't stand up and felt like passing out. So he left Bono in the truck with the truck running and the air running, because he had no idea how long he was going to be in the hospital or if he was even going to get a hold of me. When I got to the hospital, I found the truck with Bono in it and he was looking all worried and frantic, I guess he could sense something was wrong with Jim. When I got inside the emergency room they took Sue and I back to see Jim. They had started an IV with pain medication and he was starting to feel better. Then they took blood samples, took him down for an ultra-sound and then doctor came in to talk to us. Turns out he had gall bladder stones which caused him to have a gall bladder attack; in addition, his white blood cell count was up which meant he had an infection, so they put some antibiotics in his IV and said we needed to wait for the Surgeon and make a decision as to whether to have his gall bladder removed today or when we got home. Meanwhile, Sue decided to take Bono back with her to the camp sight and she offered to take care of our dogs for us. I thought that was so thoughtful especially since she is not a dog person, and we were so grateful for her. Anyway, the Surgeon finally came in and told us that he definitely had gall stones and it was up to Jim if he wanted the surgery today or did he want to wait. He also explained what happens when you have a gall bladder stone and how the attacks come on. He said he could have another attack tomorrow, or a week, or a month or even a year from now, it was unpredictable when it would happen, but because he has a stone it will happen again and he will eventually have to have his gall bladder removed. Well Jim opted to wait til we get home. We are supposed to go to Sturgis, SD after this trip, then home around Aug 12. The doctor advised him to go home now, but Jim said he didn't want to go home just to wait for another attack which may not happen for another year. He thinks because he now knows what he has, if it happens again before we get home, he'll just go to the emergency room where ever we are at. Let's hope he doesn't have another attack before Aug 12th. He did say he would call his regular doctor as soon as we get home and make arrangements to have to operated on as soon as the doctor can fit him in so that is good. Anyway, we got back to the motorhome around 4:30pm. The opening ceremony for the GNR was today and we actually made it. Turns out there are 1300 motorhomes here from all over the US. Every state but Hawaii is here; even Alaska. It's pretty cool. Afterward we, had happy hour at Cookie and Bill's RV and watched fireworks which were lit about a mile from where we were sitting. So it was a fun ending for a hectic day. Starting tomorrow, we will have seminars, entertainment all day long, crafts, vendors, craft classes, convection cooking classes, etc. for the remainder of the week. The theme for the rally is Rock and Roll and it is Winnebago's 50th anniversary - so its a pretty big deal. They even got 2009 models for everyone to tour on the grounds here.