31 Mar, Thurs: And with this day, we kiss March good-bye and say hello to sound. The new ear buds arrived for the hearing aids and Cynthia is ecstatic. Wow! Dessert at lunch was warm bread pudding. Mmmm! We exercised three times today, and Ron went for an evening walk, too. Good-bye March!
30 Mar: Cynthia’s new ear buds arrive tomorrow. This is to be an uneventful day, three lectures, cardio and strength training, plus a long evening walk.
29 Mar: Time is going too fast! We are moving to the middle of the second week at Pritikin. The good news is that Ron is apparently over his cold, and Cynthia has not inherited it. Cynthia will post her awesome labs to tell our readers what a difference it makes to not eat added sugar or added sodium in our meals, plus we are committed to maintaining the exercise when we leave here. Cynthia and Ron each had total cholesterol of 101. Her BP upon arrival was 123, two days later it was 118, and today it is 110. Ron always has perfect BP. Yay for us.
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| A Pritikin sunset |
28 Mar: Cynthia filmed a video of a very large iguana for her grandchildren. We don’t have regular fitness classes on Mondays, but we did hit the gym. and atttended lectures. In addition, Cynthia had an hour cardio with her fitness instructor. We enjoyed a nice dinner with a couple from Dallas. The sunset was lovely,
27 Mar, Sunday: Neither of us slept well! Two fitness classes, one personal trainer class, and no lectures today. We napped this afternoon. It was fun to meet Asha at dinner, to see Tammy and Dianne again. Ron has a bad cold.
26 Mar: We are worn out! Ron was on the arc trainer twice, and we did strength training. Cynthia worked out with fitness trainer and loves icing her feet with the machine. The weather has cooled down considerably. The second jigsaw is now complete, but Ron asked Vince for a few days off to get other projects done.
25 Mar: Cynthia has an early AM appointment with the medical director who awarded her a gold star for reaching Okinawa status with her health. Cardio was great… the "arc trainer" (click here) machine is awesome. Ron is making great progress on this second Pritikin jigsaw puzzle.
24 Mar: Ron met with Dr. Areces, his Pritikin cardiologist. She was beside herself with delight that Ron had aced his entrance labs. Ron is eating with gusto everything he can find and loving the challenging puzzle. We had the second of four Covid tests while we are here and attended a lecture on diabetes. It was also great to see young Brian again; he is quite the success story for losing so much weight.
23 Mar: More eating, more exercising, and lectures on managing aging joints. Ron spent four hours this afternoon,and Cynthia four this evening with Frank, the biomechanical fitness expert.
22 Mar: We were scheduled to be awake early, but that didn't happen until 7:20. The day was filled with yoga for Ron, exercise classes for both of us, and lectures. Ron completed that jigsaw puzzle in short order. The supervisor of the medical department, Nelson, was quite surprised that the jigsaw puzzle was completed overnight; (it had been sitting unfinished for two months). He surmised that the motorcycle guy was here and came searching for Ron. As it turns out Chef Vince had copies of several puzzles, so he found another one to challenge Ron.
21 Mar: New arrivals have a busy Monday with a blood draw, stress test, Dr. appointments, etc. Cynthia aced her stress test but her feet paid a price. Ron apparently lasted a little longer and was awarded a higher MET level (metabolic equivalent test (click here)). It was wonderful to discover a much thinner Brian (from Texas). Apparently he is finally sticking to Pritikin eating while not here better than in the past.
20 Mar, Sunday: For our final day riding from Naples to Pritikin (at the Trump Doral) we took the old Tamiami Trail, US 41 and stopped midway at the Big Cypress Swamp Welcome Center (click here) to watch the alligators, fish and birds. Apparently alligators eat only once a week but can survive without eating for a couple of years, so the other critters are nonchalantly cohabitating. After check in at Pritimin, we were able to eat snacks and our first Pritikin dinner. Ron discovered a wooden jigsaw puzzle 80% completed.
19 Mar: Venice to Naples, dinner tonight with Annie and Dave. We were introduced to a dizzying array of neighbors and friends. Oh, did we have fun, and oh, is Annie a great cook! Again, door to door on I-75 to avoid Spring Breakers.
18 Mar: A short hop on the interstate between Ocala, Florida and Sarasota brought us to visit Jan and Dorothy. Another short stint on I-75 brought us to Venice, Florida to overnight with Drew and BD. They are such fun. After our ever so slow day of Spring Break traffic on the 16th, we opted for the Interstate 75 door to door.
17 Mar: St. George Island to Ocala, Florida with a stop in Crystal River to visit with Tom and Dot K. We spent the night in Ocala and enjoyed an awesome dinner with Eddie and Beanie at Ivy’s On the Square. Route: after retracing our steps across the causeway on FL 300, we turned east on US 98 for miles and miles of Florida piney woods until we arrived at Crystal River. Tom and Dot were waiting for us at Crackers Bar & Grill, a nice restaurant, and they bought our lunch. We retraced our route north on US 98 to east on W. Dunnelson Road to L on US 41 N to R on FL 40 E to the Ocala downtown Hilton Garden Inn. Pleasant, bucolic scenery for today's relaxing ride.
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| Hampton Inn has views of the Gulf |
16 Mar: Leaving the lovely views from the Hampton Inn, our first stop was the CVS to get a Covid test, a requirement for Pritikin check in. Our route between Daphne, Alabama and St. George Island, Florida covered a lot of miles along the coast during Spring Break, so we had bumper to bumper traffic for eight hours, especially on US 98. In compensation, the gulf views were wonderful. Route: I-10 E (no scenic route available) to Pennsacola and I-110 S to US 98 across bridge to FL 399 through Pennsacola Beach and E to US 98 through Mexico Beach and St. Joe to R on South Bay Shore Drive (scenic) to FL 300 S across the causeway onto St. George Island. It was fun to see Trudy and family, including a couple of very tall young men.
15 Mar: Jackson Mississippi to Daphne, Alabama… maybe! Rain is forecast from here to Daphne. Ron, however, interpreted the color radar forecast to imply that we might avoid all the rain, and we did. We started at eleven after the streets dried and rode east on Pascagoula Street to I-55 south to US 49 south and east to US 98 east at Hattiesburg to I-10 east and back onto 98 south to stay at the Hampton Inn. (Ron is a bit puzzled that US 98 went smack dab into the heart of downtown Mobile in contrast to his reading of the maps. The mis-queue came with a scenic bonus on Spring Hill Avenue; the huge overarching live oak trees draped with Spanish moss were an awesome sight. (Ron had also intended to look for a restaurant going through Hattiesburg, but after waiting a long time at the first stop light, he changed his mind to take I-59 south, bypassing Hattiesburg, to US 98 instead.) After the delightful views of water crossing the rivers on old US 98, we arrived at 2:45 PM dry and hungry. Dinner at Felix’s Fish Camp was delicious, and we had a great view of the bay. Ron was reminded that we must get a Covid-19 test within seven days of our 20 March arrival at Pritikin. Cynthia booked our CVS appointments with dizzying quickness for 11:00 AM tomorrow.
14 Mar: We spent all day at the Mississippi Archives hunting for any documentation among Frances Powell Otken’s papers for that 1788 death date of a James Lea, and we found her source. It was sent to her in 1913 by a LEE descendant (not Lea) who had attended a DAR convention - which means that no family Bible record is involved and that this is second hand, unverifiable information.
13 Mar, Sunday: We attended church with Pat at a New Life Gospel Church in Walker, then rushed over to Don's for another salmon luncheon. After returning to Pat's condo to pack, we departed towards Pat's ancestral properties and then up I-55 to Jackson, Mississippi. The roads and sights on MS 442 etc were pleasant and unremarkable. The ride up to Jackson was punctuated by multiple pit stops to relieve ourselves of excess fluids. The Old Capitol Inn is a more pleasant hotel than expected, in the heart of the Jackson state capitol district. Surprisingly, the streets are nearly deserted on this Sunday afternoon. Hungry, we walked eight blocks to the Westin Hotel to have a light dinner, but this was a bit too far for Pat since she hasn't been walking much since covid.
12 Mar: We enjoyed a wonderfully pleasant visit with Pat all day in Denham Springs, and lunch at Duke's was every bit as good as expected. Too amusing to learn that Don and Duke are both Landrys.
11 Mar: We spent the day after noon in Denham Springs with Pat B. Our schedule traveling is tight; we will catch up as time permits. We had a fabulous lunch at famous Don’s Seafood Restaurant.
10 Mar: Let’s roll to Baton Rouge. We anticipated leaving by nine, but it was 11:00 by the time we were fully loaded and 12:00 after mailing a box to Pritikin, dropping more stuff at the storage unit, and returning the car. Our arrival time at the Hilton Garden Inn in Baton Rouge was 6:00 PM. We rode on Texas Route 105 east through the piney woods to I-10 east to Texas 12 (which turns into Louisiana 12) to Louisiana 190 east to Baton Rouge where the pines disappeared to bayous and fields turning green. Somehow the scenery was more interesting once we crossed the Louisiana border, despite the bridge construction for the first 20 miles. The take-away was visible poverty in western Louisiana with Dollar Stores as the most frequent retail outlet in many towns.
9 Mar: MD Anderson Mammogram Woodlands, males not encouraged to attend. Observation… we sold the lake house 6 years ago and gave all of the contents to children and grandchildren, so how do we still have so much stuff to pack, both into storage and onto the motorcycle?
8 Mar: 7:30 AM departure, and the rain was challenging at times. It won't be fun to unload recycling in rain (85% probability). Then we see Sasha for final finishing touches, and afterwards, lunch at Pappadeaux with Helen. The treasured recycling was conveniently dropped off at the Pruett location since the Magnolia center is no longer open on Mon and Tuesday, despite the erroneous hours posted on the website. We dropped off a load of our packed items at the storage unit, and Cynthia found her TurfToe shoe insert.
7 Mar: We enjoyed another pin cushion treatment from Dr. Wendy. Everyone asks Cynthia about her wonderfully colorful black eyes. She tries to incriminate Ron, but he quips that he will never understand female aesthetics since her aesthetician gave her the black eyes. Dr. Wendy played GO quite some time ago, and her father is a good player, but he speaks no English. It must have rained last night because all the usual puddles were again filled with water. Ron continues his mission to transfer as much of the dirt at the waste treatment construction site to the various pitfalls that have jarred our bodies during our walks.
6 Mar, Sunday: Dinner with Jon and Tina. Ron walked twice today, at 4 PM and again at 7 PM.
5 Mar, Sat. Cynthia finishes packing for the thirty third time. Ron had the delightful surprise this evening of seeing three otters swimming in the lake at dusk. There was too much cloud cover for a nicely colored sunset.
4 Mar, Fri: Cynthia is off to see Dr. Sharpless. (Ron gets to skip this one, so he is going to attempt photographing postcards in light winds.)
3 Mar: Cynthia was fitted with new tips for her hearing aids and they they work immeasurably better !! The new ear buds go down into her small ear canal, and sound, sweet, precious sound, is reason to rejoice. EARLENS.. Hearing, plus new prescription glasses are another reason to shout Halleujah. Halle= Praise, Lu = To, Ya= Yahweh. Ron walked a bunch (twice to the lake and to the point with Cynthia), Cynthia walked 2.7 miles total including he first outing in three weeks, to the point. Not a big walk, but no foot pain. Whew !!
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| Ron loves his SmoochSmooch |
2 Mar: Cynthia ventured forth to an appointment with Dr. Birken. She was surprised by a Smooch Note when she returned. The patio doors are open to cool, fresh, fragrant breezes; the lake is peaceful and calming. Ron photographed photos, etc., is organizing stacks of paper, and planting welcome home love notes. More clipping bushes, more transplanting dirt today.
1 Mar: Yes, the heated gear is still for sale, but we will try again next fall. Today is our last session of fitness training with torturess Erin. Ron clipped a few more bushes on his way to the lake and back. Cynthia says our schedule is crazy for the next ten days. Ron pulled another couple of boxes full of old leftover recycling from the storage locker since our schedule includes stopping by the recycling drop off in Magnolia on the 8th. The challenge is to get everything ready to be recycled in a week. No way will James Lea be finished then, but much progress has been made. After we left the storage unit, Cynthia decided she had forgotten her sunglasses. We went back to retrieve them, but they weren’t to be found! Right. They were on her head! Ron again "freed" a bucket of dirt from one of the 30' tall piles on the construction site and transported it to the several holes he is attempting to fill/ mitigate on our normal pathways.
