Monday, April 7, 2008

TRAVEL, MAINTENANCE, AND BLOOD SUGAR

We had an easy travel day yesterday, only about 100 miles, through the Texas Hill Country from Fredericksburg to Georgetown (35 miles north of Austin).

We began by adding 70 gallons of fuel to our diesel tank - $277! Our friends the Bartees were awaiting us at a shaded picnic area just outside Fredericksburg, and we fell in behind them to caravan to Jim Hogg Park (read our campground review here).


It's pretty country, green and rolling. With Luna snoozing on my lap, we passed vineyards, pecan orchards, U-pick strawberry farms, LBJ's Ranch (a National Historic Site), herds of Texas Longhorns and flocks of goats grazing the fields.

The small towns along the route are built mostly of limestone, with many of the buildings dating to the late 1800's or early 1900's. This photo, of Georgetown's "historic district" is a good example of the area architecture.

On a totally different subject..

After I reported that we spent $840 to have our motorhome serviced by RV Mobile Lube while we were in Fredericksburg, Donna posted this question:

"Just as a matter of curiosity, what would all that cost at a place you had to go to? How often do you get your oil changed--as often as a car-- every 3,000 miles or 3 months?"

Odel looked up the answer. Last time we had this (major) servicing done, 2 1/2 years ago in Sacramento, California, at a Cummins service facility, we paid $1150 (and had to deal with their uncommunicative service manager)! You can see why we LOVE RV Mobile Lube. Fortunately, we don't have to change the oil nearly as often as in a car... we do it every 15,000 miles or once a year at a cost of $290.

And one more change of subject: blood sugar. About 2 1/2 years ago, Odel was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes when his blood sugar level rose to 125. Normal is under 100; 100 to 124 is "pre-diabetic"; 125 and over is considered diabetic.

Odel lost 15 pounds and made minor changes to his diet, and kept his blood sugar in the pre-diabetic range for the next couple of years, never below 100, usually between 110 and 115, checking it every week or two.

Yesterday, it was 88! For the five readings prior to that, his blood sugar level was in the 90's, beginning in February of this year. Amazing!

We can think of only one change Odel has made to his diet: beginning in January of 2008, he has been drinking 3 cups (sweetened with honey) of GREEN TEA each day. I had read that green tea can help "normalize" blood sugar, but these results were completely unexpected - and welcome. We can't swear that is what accounts for the improvement, but thought others might like to know about it.

2 comments:

  1. Oh, we are soooooo proud of you two -- you work together so well!!!! Way to go!!!!!!

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  2. Thank you for the oil changing answer. I can certainly see why you like the RV Mobile Lube. Good price and a nice friendly person!I'm glad it's only once/yr!! Very interesting about the Green Tea. I wonder if it works on cholesterol? Hmmmmm
    donna

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