I am back to traveling, and doing fine

Last week, a colleague and I visited public libraries around the state, and taught 4 classes on our new health facilities and services information database, Go Local Nebraska http://medlineplus.gov/nebraska . I am proud to say that, after 1474 miles, two rental cars, and 5 motel rooms (one of which overlooked the state pen - I shouldn't be the one to arrange motels during the next trip!), I am traveling just fine, and probably doing better than I did this time last year, when my head hurt so bad all the time from the tumor. My colleague, who was already a big hero to me when she refused to let me poo-poo the pain and lump and promised during our road trip last year that she would nag me continuously until I visited a doctor, was an even bigger hero for riding around with me driving in my new Coolibar hat http://www.coolibar.com/02512.html. The hat worked so well - my face hasn't been hurting as much at night, so I know I must have been exposing it to the sun before, even with the face shield.
I didn't scare too many people, but one library staff member did widen her eyes quite a bit when she saw me waiting on the doorstep. When our first rental car became undriveable in Wallace, Nebraska, we stopped by the local co-op and one of the mechanics on duty said, "oh, do you have lupus?" when he saw the hat. I told him it was something like that, and was grateful that he understood there could be reasons for covering one's face other than being sinister.
The whole eating thing took care of itself pretty well, too. I brought my protein shake mix, just in case, and could mix it with water in the motel room if I hadn't had much to eat during the day. The diners and restaurants that we stopped in usually had green beans, or other vegetable handy, milk, and quite a few of them had fried shrimp (hey, it works for me). The very best meal was in Stanton, Nebraska, at the Uptown Brewery http://stanton.net/brew.htm. The librarians in town recommended the place for lunch, so we drove over and were very pleased with the ambiance and the excellent menu & service. They didn't have vegetables listed on the menu, but the waitress said she would ask the chef. She came back with the best plate of steamed veggies I have enjoyed ever - even had asparagus in it - and it had a small dish of sauce. My colleague tasted the sauce, pronounced it wonderful and free of pepper or garlic, so I tried some on the veggies. It worked - not sure what it was supposed to taste like, but it worked very well. I felt special to have a plate like that fixed just for me.
I leave at o-dark-thirty in the morning on Friday for Philadelphia. Thanks to last week, I am not worried a bit about how I will manage - I know I will do just fine!