Our last week

Finally, from Seaside, OR we have time to rest our weary old bones from our memorable VitaTour 2010. Memorable for many reasons.



1) We got to meet some great customers and make new friends. This is always our most important reason for these trips. For those of you who helped with stops, a very special thank you. These trips would be impossible without you.



2) Special friends were visited. Carol N, Alice, Eleanor, Tiffany, Sue B, Hope B. went well beyond, by extending "hospitality and/or rescue" care and by encouraging us even during the tough days, between our break downs. You ladies are incredible, hugs to your families, too, for putting up with us and letting us draw on their partners time and spirit.


3) Those Docs, RN's, Dietitians and other professionals who took the time to visit with us at the conference. It is our hope you picked up some tips and ideas about Bio Tech and their wonderful products and well as from us.



4) Those businesses that provided help for our vehicles when we were stranded. I hope you all noticed your help has been noted in our blog and we encourage others to feel comfortable in seeking out your services.


5) Finally, I want to thank that incredible Vitalady for putting up with (or just shrugging off) my nastiness during those rough days, of being cut off in LA traffic, blow outs, dealing with damage to our rig. You, most of all are the reason for these trips. I love traveling with you, really, and spending our anniversary (22nd) in Seaside.



Speaking of Seaside, our final stop for VitaTour 2010. This is the best place for us to unwind before throwing our selves back into business. And all of the characters here are interesting. Hector here is not really camera shy, as he is calling his ladies for a trip into the coastal mist.






While here, we visited every Crocs store between Canon Beach and Astoria. We also hit every Thrift Store and many of the cute little shops and restaurants, too.



We only have a weekend to get things stored for the final leg to the VitaCompound and get ready for Ben (Michelle's youngest) and Monica's wedding. Oh, we also get to see our sweet little grand daughter, Becky, that we haven't seen for ever. So next week we get to add Monica and her son (Also named Ben)to our family. We will bring our "house" to Bremerton, so as not to miss a moment of the final prep.


So another trip under our belt and thinking about going to Orlando next year. We will probably not go through California and Nevada next trip. So right now everything is open. We hope to spend considerable time in New England as well. So until next year, thanks for your support. Isn't life good?


(M: my take. We love these trips! Yes, it's a lot of work, but then when we see faces, it is so well worth it! And Seaside is such a good place to rest our souls after the hustle bustle. I also want to acknowledge those hard working people at Vitalady.com, who were taking care of business while we were out on the road. )

Back in Hanford

Back with Alice and Mike. Alice picked up sandwich makin's and we shared that and lotsa laughs and embarrassing moments. Here Alice is making sure everything is in order. As always it is.

This time we had Vickiand Jo join us. Vicki is a quiet mousey kinda lady and never ever shares her opinion. (RIGHT) Not mousey nor quiet but quite the lady. Just wait until she gets back on the Grad Group. Better strap your self into you desk chair.

This picture of Jo definitely does not show her warm character. I just shot her in a serious moment. She is so darned nice.

We had a ball with these gals as we have in the past. And of course I had to capture Alice in an embarrassing moment. OH WAIT, this isn't Alice, honest. It's someone else, because Alice would not want me to post such a picture. And of course I would honor her request, I'm that kind of guy. So remember this really isn't Alice, honest.

Why she puts up with us (actually with me) is beyond comprehension. At least she and Michelle can go to the outlet stores and the Crocs store, with out doing too much damage to the credit cards.

And then there is Alice's husband Mike. He has become my west coast big brother. We have had fun discussing our painful pasts, military similarities, our agreement on politics, trucks and foods. We do have a lot in common, more than my own brothers (meaning no disrespect to either of my brothers or Mike). He and Alice have been there when we were there with Michelle's broken arm and now with our broken vehicles and spirits. I would put Mike's picture here so you could see what a good guy looks like, but I generally use flash on my cameras and the bounce back from his scalp would be blinding. So instead I added a picture of the one who never gets the brunt of my humor. Kisses babe. Let's get a room. Sorry Mike, she is better lookin'.

Well tomorrow we are back in Vacaville to share the 4th with Tiffany and Loye. Isn't life with friends, fun? See ya there.

Where were we, last?

We left the RV Resort in Las Vegas and headed for Boron, CA. Across the desert (Mojave) with temps over 110 deg. Dang I think the high was 112. VERY HOT. I have to say, although it has its own beauty, I have no idea why any one would want to settle out here.


We see a number of stand alone homes and small communities. It must be hard to make a living out here. Even harder to just live. But it takes all kinds to make up this crazy world. After all how many would relish in the wet drizzly climate called western Washington?


Boron is the home of the Twenty Mule Team Borax fame. We have been here before on a pass through. This time we take advantage of a nice little RV Park that easily met our needs (50 amps with wide and deep sites.)

The town is small and on a Sunday, quiet. We met up with Sharon S for dinner and conversation. The menu at the K&L Corral was wonderful, as was the meal it self. If for some reason you find your self in the area, it is definitely the place for a good meal and great service.















Lisa came with Sharon and they met Patti there. (This is Lisa and Patti)



We chatted until closing and giggled (which with Sharon around, it is gonna happen). After sharing stories, successes and difficulties we have made some more friends. Patti came back to the RV site and we discussed more on iron and other specific issues.





Sharon, thanks for arranging this stop. It was wonderful seeing you again and as always you make us smile and giggle.

From here we head out early to Visalia, CA which is near Hanford. Normally we would stay at the county fair grounds in Hanford but Alice put the Kings County Fair right smack in the middle of our stop. She can be soooo mean (I will get even). So Visalia was the next best choice. This is a small KOA (Visalia/Fresno KOA) again with nice sized sites and amenities.

Michelle and Alice went out running errands and preparing for a gathering at Alice's Tuesday. I did some work but really rested more. The heat here is over 105 and is zapping my strength. According to Michelle, even Mike and Alice were complaining about the heat as well. If the locals complain I guess we outsiders can, too.


Well it is after noon on Tuesday and we need to get going to the meet and greet in Hanford. So until we return we'll cut this short. See ya soon. Isn't life grand?

27th ASMBS Conference

As mentioned in the last post, we did make it to Las Vegas, the host city for the 27th Annual ASMBS Conference. This is a conference for professionals that are members of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgeons to share and learn the various areas of interest in the bariatric and metabolic communities.


In other words, a chance for Michelle to wrangle Surgeons, RN's, RD's and anyone who will listen, how nutritional supplementation plays a part in the success of surgical weight loss patients. Over the past eleven years, we have shared our story and reason for our success, with these professionals. And over the years (one by one) some have seen the importance of our experience for their patients.


It has been very satisfying to have those of influence in the field open their eyes to a pro-active stance toward dealing with the expected nutritional deficiencies before they become a serious difficulty. With the help of our customers and friends, turning in good labs, Michelle's wrangling and the openness of these professionals, the word IS getting out.


We remember when supplements (especially protein shakes) were dirty words. As the first company to "show and tell" our nutritional products at these conferences, over 10 years ago, we can say that more and more clinics and practices are adding nutritional plans to their program.


This year, we even had a few doc's, who in the past have been able to avoid Michelle's enthusiasm, finally slow down enough and be open enough to listen. (Thank you to Dr's John Coon and Mal Fobi.) Dr. Coon did agree to add Vitamin D 25 Hyroxy add to his lab slips. (yippie)


We ran into Dr's. Todd (Anchorage), Greenbaum (New Jersey), Rabkin (San Francisco), Sweet (Pennsylvania), Rumbaut (Mexico), Marchesini (Brazil) and so many more surgeons and their support staff. This was a productive conference for us and are looking forward to 2011 in Florida.

We want to especially thank Bio Tech Pharmacal, our conference host and all the suppliers that have shared product to share with those we are meeting along our journey this year. Please remember them when you are considering which products to purchase.

The owner of Bio Tech, Dale Benedict, was there sharing his technical expertise and charm with many of the participants. This is Michelle and I, with Dale at the Bio Tech booth. We had fun working with him and promoting his product and company.



Tomorrow we take the day off, do laundry, play with Lucy and some one said something about a Crocs Outlet Store. After that we head back to California and head north. With any kind of luck, we will return home without the problems we had coming south. Talk with ya soon as we head home.

We made it to Grand Canyon and beyond

Even though our time at the Grand Canyon was shortened, it was certainly worth it. We made Williams, AZ (our camp ground) and all worked out fine. The site is 50 miles away from the National Park. And Williams is on old US Route 66 or The Mother Road. For your car nuts this is a great part of Americana Motor History.



Anyway I got up early and left (alone) for the Canyon. On the way, there is a mountain I thought was interesting and wanted to share here. I pulled of the main road and up a service road to get a clear shot.

And then the final 20 miles to the info center to purchase my "Senior" life time pass and into the National Park. This park is incredible, very well laid out and well marked.

I pulled into the first lot and found a spot at the trail head, so no extra walking. And there it is. A piece of God's miracle. The Grand Canyon. This is my first view and I am a blown away here as I was at Crater Lake in central Oregon. There is nothing I can do to capture the colors. Even in the early afternoon, the colors are muted some, but still breath taking. These are only a few of the many pictures I took.

Well I decided if I stayed there all day and shot a million more pictures, my leg would be used up and I really wanted to share this with Michelle. So around 2:30 I headed back to pick her and Lucy up so we could see the canyon as the sun set. The colors are so much more intense and the contrast was WOW, just incredible.


So here is Michelle and her first view and me and Lucy enjoying the evening, followed by some more pictures.

Now I know it takes all kinds of people to make up this world. One of the things that really got me is how the Park Service has avoided putting up barriers to prevent accidents. Obviously, they are concerned "because that first step is a doosey". There are a lot of warning signs posted, but there are a bunch of pseudo-mountain goats wearing clothes walking on two feet that have to test fate. That is not gonna be Michelle or me, no way!

I could have stayed here for several more days, but we do have a conference to attend. After all this is a business trip. Next stop : Las Vegas. So we head out the next day to Nevada. To get there we had to go over the Hoover Dam, which I have never seen either. Before crossing we get stopped (along with every one else) for security. They checked truck and trailer for anything that could damage the dam. It is a bit of a hassle, but in today's world, I understand the need.

Finally cleared, we join traffic and ever so slowly drop down to the dam bridge way and across.

Built in the the 20's and 30's this is also a marvel. The current construction looks like the are adding a bridge way above the structure. There are plenty of turnoffs here if you want to really look, but with a 39' trailer, we just moseyed on. Here are a few final pictures to this segment of our trip. From feeding the dam to the controls and finally crossing from AZ to NV.

Between man made and natural barriers, it is such a contrast.

And finally we cross from Arizona to Nevada. From here just a short jump to Las Vegas. We met up with Sue B here after we set up camp.

The next day Michelle gets a call from Dr Carolyn in South Dakota. She is one of our old revisions. Her husband kidnapped her for a few days and came to Vegas on a lark. Then sat next to a surgeon who was coming to the conference and they put 1 and 1 together and low and behold they are even staying in the same hotel. We shared a wonderful meal and caught up on old times. Sorry camera wasn't ready so no pictures.

OK tomorrow in the first day in the exhibit booth, so we are off to bed shortly. It will be an early up so we'll catch up with you all later.

Williams, AZ and "The Canyon"

One step closer to the Grand Canyon. I have been prevented from seeing "The Canyon" a number of times due to problems on previous trips. I was about to resolve this would be another, but here we are in Williams, AZ, fifty miles from the grandeur of the big ditch.


We arrived here without incident. The new clutch behaved well, the trailer pulled true, no blow outs and thus far I have avoided hitting anything with my big trailer butt. Hey, I even filled up with DIESEL fuel in Mesa. Life is good.


As we were leaving Mesa, we were looking for a place to UPS a package home. Twice we were told "Sorry sir," They either handle only next day or 2nd day air or couldn't use our UPS account. "But you can go to the Hub". It is waaaaaay out of the way and pulling the trailer there didn't sound like something we wanted to do. So the package is accompanying Lucy in the back seat of the truck.



Moving on toward Prescott and Flagstaff, climbing over 5000' above sea level, the temp finally drops all the way to 97 deg. Come on, wasn't it freezing in Flagstaff last month? (YES it was.) Arizona is a strange state, 107+ deg in Mesa in the desert to 97 deg in the high desert. But once we were higher, it did remind us of Eastern Washington. Green, trees taller than 20', and water.

We pulled into one of the still open rest areas and finally found out why Arizona doesn't change their clocks in the spring and fall, like the rest of the country. They use sun dials as their official time piece and it is too hard to move the dial twice a year.

A final look at the sun dial and it is time to move on. Lucy and Michelle head for the truck. "Hey guys aren't you forgetting something, like the driver?"

OK, I'll stop picking on the state whose residents and businesses have been so helpful to us. and head off to bed. I want to get up early and to go "shoot the canyon". And to be awe struck by its beauty. That is tomorrow, finally.

I enjoy the natural beauty of this country more than Michelle, so I am heading out alone. This way I can shoot a million pictures, taking my time and relax. Leaving Michelle here in Williams to enjoy the splendor of "Clearance" and Sale" rack or just giving her a break from my distemperment.

So until I get back from the wonder of the Grand Canyon, I bid you good night. Isn't life good?

Can you name this broken part?

We are still in Mesa, not able to leave until tomorrow morning. It isn't because we love the Phoenix area, the people and businesses here, because we have found some wonderful folks and businesses. It's more problems.


Michelle was coming back from lunch with Nita and Carol, remember. And a funny story she didn't want to relate. I have to say it was something really silly. Or so I (we) thought. She couldn't get the truck into lower gears. She restarted the truck and the problem was resolved.
(M: when in doubt: reboot)

Yesterday, the day BEFORE we were to leave for the Grand Canyon, Michelle had trouble with it again. I figured it might be the linkage because I could get it into 2nd (kinda), 3rd and 4th. If it's linkage, no big deal.


We found a Dodge dealer that would look at it, and possibly get us back on the road. I'm back at the rv, Michelle is in a rental, she hooks up with Hope to get a hair cut. When she returned, her hair looked and felt SOOOOOO nice. Another plug, this time for Marie's, the Hair Perfectionist, Indian School Rd and E 24th, in north Phoenix. She Michelle, was very pleased that she was so pampered for a drop in.


I'm getting ahead of myself here. While she is gone, I get a call from the Dodge dealer, obviously bad news. Thus the heading for this segment.


"Can you name this broken part?" Hint - it weighs about 150# is big, metallic, goes between the engine and manual transmission, consists of four assemblies and should go roundy roundy when pressing in the clutch allowing an operator to change gears.


In the old days when Michelle and I worked on Volkswagens, it was a nuisance to change but could be done in a couple of hours for less than a hundred bucks. The answer is, a Fly Wheel, Pressure Plate, Clutch Disc and Throw Out Bearing. And for a Cummins Diesel, figure X 10, a lot of which is labor. Hey, the parts weight 10 times more too.


OK, so our luck continues. All the problems have been when we could work around it, time wise. Yes ,a lot of money and inconvenience BUT we have made a lot of new friends, even at Superstition Dodge in Mesa. Yep another plug from a VERY satisfied customer. The problem wasn't their fault but they handled it as if we were their only customer and were glad to help. (And I don't think it was just for the money.)


M: the business tie-ins here? At this rv park, I try to recycle everything I can, so I combined as many protein jugs as I could yesterday and insisted they recycle the 4 I released. When I went up to pay for this extra day, young guy who works here asks if I left the protein jugs, where did I get them, how did they taste....... And, BTW, his mom had WLS and it didn't work out so well.


And at the Dodge dealer? Really? A "brother" needs WLS.


It's kinda like your new car, when you see one everywhere you go, but never noticed before? Yeah, like that.


Well, let's see. Tomorrow up to Williams, AZ and the Grand Canyon. This is Don, the Vitaguy (and eternal optimist) signing off for now. See ya there, (we hope).


M: this is our FOURTH try to get Don to GC. Arm took us out in 07. Timing took us out in both 08 and 09. This year, we built in extra days just for GC. But we spent them........ where? Hanging out in Mesa with the peeps that I think are way better than GC, personally, but at the Dodge dealer dropping money we don't have. So, at least he can wave as we go by. We will aim again next year. LOL