Hooray hooray for the 12th of May

31 May, Thurs: The celebration of our one year anniversary and Ron's birthday for a month ends tonight!    See Trail Journals.com for the updates of the past few days hikes.  Today's four hour hike past Thundering Falls was spectacular.

30 May: Dropping Yogi off at the Mountain Lodge, we returned to do some computer work before hiking for four hours north bound. 

29 May: Continued hiking from Gifford Woods; but what a day and what a hike!   We witnessed the reunion of Blue Grass and two of his hiking buddies who had been separated.  A short while later we ran into Yogi - a hiker we met in Waynesboro, VA who was on her way to evening lodging.  By the time we reached the car we realized ..."Why didn't we invite her to dinner???"  And off we went to Yogi's Inn to take her out to eat.  She was only too delighted to go with us since the place she was staying did not have a restaurant.  She hopped in the car and stayed at the Inn at long Trail.  We had a great meal at the Garlic in Killington.

8 May: continued hike from Gifford Woods northbound

27 May, Sun:  Today's hike was very challenging albeit short; we hiked the NB AT starting about a mile S of the Inn at Long Trail - right across the road from where we started SB yesterday.  The difference today was walking the mile to the trailhead.  Trying to locate the trail was the next challenge.  Two pseudo trails led into the woods through a swamp; they were NOT trails but false leads.  Ron blocked one false entry to prevent others from making the same mistake a hiker made just this morning.  This was a good hike!  We enjoyed the 4.5 mile trek despite rough terrain and steep incline.   OH BOY were we  delighted to see campers at Giffords Woods State Park.  Cynthia boldly marched up to a group of rock climbers and asked for a ride back to the Inn (another two mile journey).

AT NB Katahdin soon?

26 May, Sat: 10:30 AM the loop hike from the AT trailhead about a mile south of the Inn at Long Trail!  The car parked, one of us was slathered with sunblock, mosquito repellant and into the netting hoodie while the other gave sage advice about where to step to avoid the ticks that carry lyme disease.  Off we went following the white blazes on the AT to the junction with the Sherburne Pass Trail then blue-blazed down to the Inn at Long Trail.  The 7.4 mile hike was accomplished in five hours. Congratulations are deserved for achieving the same distance/time when we left VA after the three week hiatus to the Keys and into GA.  The  Vermont trails are more challenging: more incline, boulders and tree roots.   After dinner Ron puzzled while Cynthia enjoyed a delightful Scots-Irish fiddle and singer duo who reside in Canada.  The female was the strongest fiddler.  The Inn at Long Trail has a rich history of being the only authentic Irish pub in Vermont.  The furnishings are from Ireland.

25 May:  The Inn at Long Trail opened at noon; we had a delicious lunch with a super nice section hiker after a shopping spree at Dollar General, Price Chopper and Wal-Mart.  Ron hiked to the top of the Sherburne Pass Trail and back (6.4 miles).

24 May:  We hiked a mile RT up to Long Trail and the AT on Deer Look Overlook Trail.  It does not pay for Cynthia to have a five hundred calorie deficit a day like yesterday.  She was one tired cookie today.   Ron rested while mending socks.

23 May: Rain is forecast again, but Ron is dying with curiosity to see the effects of rain on the recently maintained parts of the trail.  We  hiked 6.5 miles.  Cynthia's stamina was amazing.  She had more energy than Ron.

22 May:  Opening day at the Inn is getting closer.  We got out of bed early and out of Sugar & Spice early and got gas, food, and more bug repellent before hitting the trail for an hour up and an hour down.  Now it is late afternoon and rain is imminent.  The trail is much improved by the several days of dry weather and by Ron's continuing stream-bed maintenance.  A 75-piece round dinosaur jigsaw puzzle at the Inn was enough challenge for Ron today.  He is enjoying the freedom stemming from finishing the edits to Volume 6 of the Colonial Swedish Church Records, the Wrangel years.

21 May: We slept oh so late.  Breakfast at Sugar and Spice followed Cynthia's eye-opener protein drink, and then we hiked six miles.  Ron did trail maintenance and is really improving the Sherborne Pass section of the Long Trail besides feeding Cynthia jelly beans.  (Unfortunately he forgot that responsibility in the excitement of uphill trail maintenance, but Cynthia motored to the open viewpoint, drank water, and ate a mini cliff bar to restore her vitality.)  The bug netting is a crowd pleaser although it is surprisingly effective as a thermal layer.  Salmon for dinner at Garlic's was wonderful although their menu was restricted because there was no chef.  The Inn at Long Trail can be viewed at this link: http://www.downthetrail.com/hiking-the-long-trail-vermont/day-18-killington-peak/  or look closely at the bottom of the white rocks in the photo taken today:

View from summit of Sherburne Pass

Best hiking gear: Netting

20 May, Sunday:  A Zero mile hiking day.  We breakfasted at Sugar and Spice again before driving to the Mall to shop at Eastern Mountain Sports for DEET-free bug repellent (Natrapel uses 20% Picaridin).  We also found Cynthia a jacket with hood & mittens made of netting (see glam photo above).  Rave reviews ever since!  I shoulda knowed better than to take Cynthia shopping; we spent a wad on bug repellent shirt, light knickers, sports bras, undies, BodyGlide, hand warmer packs, a number of other items.  Oops, the single most expensive item was new shoes for me (on clearance), the Vibram fivefingers variety in sky blue w/ golden toes.  We lunched at the 99 Restaurant and returned to the room for a nap before going to Choice's for dinner.

19 May:  Cynthia hiked six miles towards the top of Sherburne Pass fighting bugs and flies.  Ron did trail maintenance.  J.B. Rambo Rabbit provided yellow, green and pink droppings. Cynthia's favorites.(J.B. stands for jelly bean.)  Cynthia managed to impress a mud puddle impression on the left cheek of her jeans.  We picked up Achilles at the AT trailhead on Route 4 and dined royally at Choice's Restaurant in Killington.  (Cynthia was delighted to order a filet mignon after Achilles agreed to finish it.)  Achilles reports that the AT north of Rutland shows a lot of damage from hurricane Irene with many sections washed out or rerouted and lots of storm debris.  http://www.downthetrail.com/hiking-the-long-trail-vermont/day-18-killington-peak/

18 May: Poor Cynthia had zip energy and spent most of the day in bed recovering from the fly bite and a sinus infection; Achilles arrived near Rutland; we picked him up at the trailhead on Highway 103 south of Rutland and treated him to dinner at Table 24.  Food is good but the dining room was way too noisy.  The next stop was Ben and Jerry's so Achilles could have a milk shake and Cynthia could have triple caramel chunk in a waffle cone.  Both Cynthia and Achilles too much over-filled their tummies.

17 May:  We checked in at the Inn at Long Trail;  Achilles arrives tomorrow. We hiked two hours and did NOT enjoy the black flies.  Cynthia was bitten in the eye lid, and her eye swelled nearly shut.  YUK.

16 May:  Not a lot accomplished but another good hike enjoyed.  

15 May: We hiked about three hours if you count getting caught in the rain and spending half an hour in a lovely screened in gazebo.  The day was joyfully capped off with Marjorie and Richard as our dinner guests.

14 May: Arrival at the Chesterfield Inn near Brattleboro was a treat!  Immediately we phoned Beanie and Eddie who IMMEDIATELY jumped into their vehicle and IMMEDIATELY drove to the Inn to have dinner with us.  They have good news that a kidney donor has been found and a replacement operation is tentatively scheduled for June depending on tests.

13 May:  Happy Mother's Day to all of the mothers in your lives.  After a great egg white veggie omelet (Cynthia ate two scoops of French toast casserole) we hiked seven and one -half miles along an old canal onto a road and a state park.  Instead of choosing the State Park to continue the hike towards Cranberry Lake we opted for Waterloo Village a mile and a half further on an asphalt highway.  By ignoring the No Trespassing sign that warned of 24-hour video surveillance and skirting the locked gates, we were able to tour a mock Lenape Indian Village maintained by the Lenapes.  Further on was a farmstead and a Colonial village marketplace.  The grass was mowed but the villages were not maintained.  It was a long, hot walk along the roadways with different threats (poison ivy) along the canal path.  After showers we walked to Bell's Mansion again to enjoy dinner with champagne and wine.  Upon returning, our host innkeeper, Roz, and her daughter, Nikki, entertained us in a relaxing conversation on the front porch.  The jacuzzi failed to jet, but Ron enjoyed a good soak anyway for more than an hour.

12 May:  Happy Anniversary to us!  One year! OH BOY! Marvelous champagne lunch en route to the Whistling Swan B&B in Stanhope, NJ.  Dinner at Bell's Mansion. The innkeeper is a delightful lady named Roz.

11May: Archival work, drinking lunch at McMinnamin's, dinner at Scoogi's. 

Cynthia's grandson Austin, John P, Jim Z. and Kim-Eric

65th Birthday Party Surprise

10 May:  We are committed to be at the Lutheran Archives by 10am to meet John and Sally and Austin.  Thousands of our closest Philadelphia friends are invited to dinner at Avenida.  I gotta remember to show off my newly acquired button labeled "Hottest Tongue in Key West." ANOTHER SURPRISE BIRTHDAY PARTY????  What is this world coming to? 

Kim-Eric, Austin, Cynthia, Ron, Bev W. Scholarship Award

9 May:  Plan is to drive nearly to Philadelphia.

8 May: Plan is to drive to the vicinity of Front Royal, VA.

7 May:  Plan is to leave Athens "early" and drive to Virginia before dark.

6 May, Sunday:  We've had another lovely day starting with gourmet spinach and tomato omelet, followed by 2+ hours discovery hike in the woods (and we successfully returned by dead reckoning), segueing to a marvelous lunch at George's Low Country Table, and finishing leisurely with sudoku and blogging. 

3 May Thurs, lovely breakfast prepared by Col. Marc of the Colonels B&B in Athens, GA. Col. Marc was a councillor to the Belgian Ambassador to the United Nations. When he and is wife, an Army Col., retired they purchased this marvelous horse estate with an antebellum home built in 1860. After breakfast we hiked a trail on the grounds before going to the Botanical Gardens of GA and picking up at least one tick managing to avoid the gigantic poison ivy along the trails. More on the awesome adventures of the Key West Motorcycle Gang later, but here are some pictures:
https://picasaweb.google.com/113780268026608859160/KEYWESTMotorcycleGand

2 May:  We vacated the Miami Hilton and shuttled to the airport, flew to Atlanta, and caught the Yellow Spot Shuttle #2 back to our reliable Lexus steed to resume our typical wandering.

This following needs to be incorporated elsewhere.  It was sent to the MIT Alumni magazine.
Cynthia and I had a delightful time riding rented Harley Classic motorcycles from Miami to Key West with MIT buddy Dr. Walter and wife Pam.  At least five times the scene was water horizon to horizon with only a strip of highway bridge ahead of us.  We toured the house where Audubon painted a few birds, the house where Hemmingway penned a book or two, the Truman "White House" where he worked more effectively than in Washington, and enjoyed seeing the landmark bars The Green Parrot Bar and Sloppy Joe's.

To get to Miami, Cynthia and I curtailed our daily hikes in the Shenandoah National Park and drove from Waynesboro, Virginia to catch a flight in Atlanta after staying a night at the Biltmore in Asheville and consulting a manuscript in the collection of UNC in Chapel Hill.

We started our daily hikes when few leaves were on the trees and the morning air was a bit brisk.
We suffered an interruption for a photo op with the Swedish ambassador at his residence on Nebraska Avenue in D.C.  (Pictures on the Where is Ron Now blog).  The ambassador and his wife were delightful and personable and fun.  We did our best to reciprocate.  Then we returned to daily hikes and worked up to an awesome 7.5 miles on our last hike.  It was terrific fun to see the gradual transition from winter to spring towards summer.  We departed for Atlanta before the "green tunnel" entirely obscured the distant ridge-lines.

Prior to hiking, we installed Cynthia's grandson and a high speed scanner in the Lutheran Archives working to digitize the 250,000 pages of documents produced by early (American) Swedish Colonial historian, Dr. Peter Craig.  To me this has been the visual highlight of the year-to-date.  The flowering trees in Philadelphia this year were unbelievably colorful and abundant.  MIT buddy Joel G. ('68) pronounced the spring as unusually beautiful.  Wharton Prof. Eric C. ('68) and wife Jean also entertained us between globe-trotting trips.

Ahhh, but I can only distantly recall those days gone by when you christened me peripatetic.

Cynthia's cancer treatment was 100% successful and the Arimidex is symptom free for her. 

Last fall after her treatments were finished, we escaped the heat of Texas in late October to attend a wedding in Chicago and danced Rock & Roll until Cynthia wore a hole in her foot.  Then we crossed over to North Carolina to research her forthcoming book on the 3 older James Leas of Caswell County circa 1790. 
That done we spent a month in Atlantic Beach, NC in an ocean-front time-share.  It was marvelous to walk out the door onto the beach in 100 yards over the dunes.  Breakfast entailed a walk 50 feet to the elevator and 50 feet further at ground level.  At dinner time we could find fine food at either of two restaurants within 45 minutes walk on the beach.
We left Atlantic Beach just before Christmas and arrived in Houston in time for our medical appointments in early January.  My cardiologist shocked us both by telling me that I have two arteries ENTIRELY blocked - so I failed that test.  Cynthia had great results. 

Oh yes, I no longer use my AOL account (and haven't checked it in two years until today).

And more to incorporate from my latest trailjournals post.
Since we were heading south to the Biltmore, we opted for the shortest drive and repeated our first two days hikes. It was no surprise to me that the hike was trivial after a month of hiking nearly every day.
The surprise was the change in vegetation, especially in the luxurious new growth of poison ivy. BEWARE hikers that one post of the "turnstile" at Beagle Gap is nearly engulfed in poison ivy. It should be encroaching on the hiker pathway at chest level by now.
After today's hike, we headed off to the Biltmore, stopping overnight in Bristol, Virginia at a familiar Holiday Inn. After a day at the Biltmore with a nice hour or two hiking in the woods on the grounds, we decided to detour to Chapel Hill for a genealogy excursion. Following two nights at Chapel Hill, we hastened towards Atlanta and were surprised to get there in a day. We parked the car (loaded full) under cover at a Yellow Spot #2 and caught our flight to Miami on time. Next day we met Walt & Pam and took cab to Peterson Harley Davidson to rent out HD Classics. That is a heavy beast of a bike; no wonder so many Harley riders are hefty. The ride down I-95 to the Fairchild Gardens went without a hitch and lunch followed by a stroll through the gardens was enjoyed by all. We got back on the road about 4pm. I was amazed that we breezed through the Keys with nary a slowdown or stop light. Those of you who have ridden a motorcycle into the Keys are familiar with the "water, water everywhere" views that astound. (To the right, water to the horizon. To the left, water to the horizon. Ahead, only a narrow strip of bridge with water all around. Behind, a mirror image of ahead, distorted and foreshortened in the mirror.) Key West sightseeing is better than I imagined. My favorite was the Truman "white house" because our guide was so knowledgeable and voluble. The Hemmingway house and Audubon house are nice, but both artists were there only briefly in their careers. I earned the "Hottest Tongue in Key West" button at a hot sauce tasting bar. The Popular House (on William Street) was a delightful place to stay and the staff were wonderful. Each motorcycling couple returned to the mainland alone, which allowed each rider to travel at their own pace and style. The Miami airport Hilton again upgraded us to an Executive suite with good view and boardroom spaciousness. We've stayed five nights at the Colonels B&B on Barrett Shoals Road in Athens, GA, a very nice place where Col. Marc serves us gourmet egg white veggie omelets daily. Once we walk through the horse paddocks and into the woods, we can hike for an hour easily. So far dead reckoning has gotten us home every time. Tomorrow (May 7) we head back northward, stopping in Philadelphia on the 10th & 11th, to Rutland, Vermont for our next section of the AT. -Shakedown Cruise

April Flowers ta da ta da on a rainy 18th

26 Apr: Bikers, start your motors !!  Walter has the route planned to Fairchild Gardens and out to Key West.

24 Apr: We check in at the Atlanta Hilton Garden Inn preparatory to our flight to Miami.

21 Apr:  First we stop overnight at the Biltmore, one of Cynthia's favorites.

20 Apr: We check out and head south to rendezvous with Walt, Pam, Jim & Joanie at the Miami Harley shop on the 26th.

18 Apr:  My new friends at the Comfort Inn are Charlotte, Kim, Rosa, and Shayna (who will be hosting 25 5-year-olds for her son's birthday party - and rain is forecast).  Progress on the Rambo CD continues sporadically.  Our daily hiking is a big success with 7.1 miles yesterday preparing for today's rainy zero day.  Cynthia is delighting in a "girl day," with hair, pedicure, manicure and Lord knows what other cures.  My time has been spent rinsing recycling, pre-washing socks (so satisfying to see that chocolate-colored rinse water), checking coins for "collectibles," and other activities best not witnessed by the "better half."  Remember that our daily hiking activities are journaled on Trailjournals.com.

12 Apr:  Time flies when you are having fun.  The Waynesboro Comfort Inn, a very pleasant place with great staff, is our present "home."  We are enjoying hiking daily and have now covered nearly 20 miles on the AT heading north (and nearly an equal distance heading south).  I've been updating the trailjournals daily, so that is where to find our where and what about us.  I am home alone for a couple of hours while Cynthia drives to Staunton to have the professionals remove all passwords from her new Macintosh computer; she was unable to remember the password to allow installation of Reunions software; then somehow reset the password to who knows what.  today is 11 month anniversary.  OH MY.  So many dates to remember.


9 Apr: Today I pulled a calf muscle.  No fun, much pain.  We did continue our daily hike as planned, but the muscle did not loosen up much from the initial cramping.  Zheng Gu Shui helps.

8 Apr:  We entertained a thru-hiker named Achilles, very nice guy.  I found his journal and put my phone # into his guest book.

5 & 6 Apr:  Chilly temps led to late AM hiking starts. Thurs. hike was close to five miles RT.  See Trail Journals.com for 2012 Shakedown Cruise updates.
4 Apr:  Visited the Chancellorville Battlefield area after walking the old city and a tour of the Kenmore House (Betty Washington Lewis's home).  Then onto Waynesboro for hiking on the AT.

Mrs. Hafstrom, Ron, Ambassador Hafstrom

3 Apr: Fredericksburg, VA is a lovely and charming old city that would not give up the ghost of Harry Bernard King (Cynthia's elusive great grandfather - and the ancestor most responsible for our marriage).  We spent the day at the downtown library in the genealogy room with a wonderful librarian, Nancy, and thousands of books.  Nothing new about Harry, but a full ancestry for Elias King, an ancestor of a DNA cousin.  We walked the streets of  historic downtown for about 45 minutes.  Dinner at the Olde Towne Steak and Seafood Restaurant was lovely.  Cynthia may have poison ivy but her back is doing great.

Ron and Ambassador Hafstrom

Ron, Ambassador Hafstrom, Herb Rambo at Rambo Apple Tree

Mrs. Hafstrom, Ron, Ambassador Hafstrom

Ron in "well chosen tie", Ambassador Hafstrom

Ron in Ambassador's Residence

2 April:Amazing day!  Gussied up in fine clothes, suit and stuff... we met Herb and Sally at the residence of the Ambassador from Sweden, Jonas Hafstrom and his lovely wife Eva to present the five volumes of the Rambo Family Tree to be placed in the Swedish Embassy Library.  The Hafstroms are quite a delightful couple.  Photos were taken by the Rambo apple trees in the back yard of the residence which will soon be placed on the blog.  We especially enjoyed coffee and desserts in the sun-room with the Ambassador, his wife, Herb and Sally.  The Jack Russell terrier enjoyed being petted.  At five we met Ron's brother Dean and wife at Old Ebbitt's Grill on 15th street in D.C. for dinner.  Fun photos will follow of Ron looking for parking.  He stopped to visit a guy on the street and soon had a crowd listening to him.  The only parking place was valet parking for a very pricey fee.   Ron enjoyed two different kinds of draft beer -  not his usual "water only" fare so a photo was taken of that good time.  We forgot to take a picture of Dean and Janina!!! The  funniest part of the day for Cynthia:.. with only three minutes to spare before our entrance into the Ambassador's residence, Ron had to search for a restroom -  leaving everyone else waiting with anxiety while he found a restroom at HOMELAND SECURITY!  He hurried and arrived back at the residence with ONE minute to spare before we drove through the gates.

After a fifteen minute conversation at Kiosk with D.C. group

A good day was had by all of the survivors-Old Ebbitt's Grill in D.C.

1 April: after a hearty breakfast at the historic Stonewall Jackson Hotel we ventured back onto the AT at Turk's Gap for a 1.9 mile hike over mountain ascending ca.to 2900 plus feet. When we reached the road we followed it back to the car traveling about 3.5 miles in less than two hours. Our speed is increasing. Ron's bald spot is red. Hungry, we wolfed down salad fare at Ruby Tuesday's before departure to Arlington, VA. En route... Cynthia was less than her normal calm self upon discovery of a tick in her head Instead of saving it to compare species it quickly went out the car window. Likely it was a brown dog tick. It was too large to be a deer tick. We are checked into a Hilton Garden Inn with a very comfy bed even though the parking garage is very inferior. Good night

March 'N On!

30 Mar:  Back is improving; so is hiking. First sign of wildlife all week is a black snake.

26 Mar:  Hiking on the AT began slowly.  Trail Journals are up and running even though we are not so speedy: http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?trailname=13433

 
25 Mar:  Packed up and moving on to Staunton, Virginia to hike for a week.  Virginia is for lovers without a doubt.

23 Mar:  Busy, busy, busy here in Philadelphia, and the spring flowers have been marvelous.  We've had a lot of fun with all our friends and the multitude of acquaintances in the hotel, in restaurants & pubs, etc.  Ron is disappointed that his two major current projects are still uncompleted, but that is the price one pays for spending the time with people instead of projects.  Hmm, methinks Ron needs more coffee this morning; the muse seems to be asleep, and nothing of interest comes to mind outside springtime scenery.  The Cherry Blossom Festival in the D.C. tidal basin is renowned, but Philadelphia suburbs in the spring are similarly spectacular.

 22 March,  Maybe the blog will  get updated soon; we are racing the clock to complete work at the Archives with Cynthia's grandson, Austin, digitizing 250,000 pages of Dr. Craig's records. We leave for Staunton, VA on Sunday for a week of hiking, getting the Rambo CD done, plus edits for Vol. 6.  Cynthia took her grandson on a tour of Gov. Prinz park, the Swedish American Museum, and Gloria Dei "Old Swedes" Church with a detour for a fabulous lunch on board the Moshulu.  Austin is an extraordinary young man who prepared for a career in law and changed his mind after graduating from UT Phi Beta Kappa Magna cum Laude.  We are thankful to have his assistance.

17 March, Sat:  Lá fhéile Pádraig sona dhuit!  Happy St. Patrick’s Day to You!

16 March, Friday: Whew.  We are busy busy busy.  Smooch Smooch has the energy of the Energizer Bunny!  "What's that," she asked.  Dinner tonight with Eric and Jean C.  at the Mediterranean Grill.
 
12 March, Mon: 10 Month Anniversary!  Smooch Smooch! Arrived at the Lutheran Seminary after a very nice late sleep and now to work!  Cynthia's grandson Austin arrived last Wednesday and has the digitization of the Craig Collection project underway.  We enjoyed lunch and dinner with Jim Z., Austin, Kim-Eric, Agel at McMenamin's Irish Pub

11 March, Sun:  NO! we did not want to awaken an hour early but the prospect of surprising Poppa Bear and his family so delighted us we managed to hop out of bed anyway to drive to the Tidings of Peace Mennonite Church and witness the joy on their faces as they saw us.  We enjoyed worship, Sunday School and a magnificent dinner prepared by Mary Lois and the girls.  The dining room table must hold twenty people.  Each one of the boys is more talented than the next.  What a marvelous family.

Austin, Grandpa Shakedown, Kevin, Trevor, Mary Lois and the Girls

The Shenk Girls, Cynthia, Trevor, Kevin, Austin and Grandpa Shakedown

10 March, Sat:  Long lo0000nngggg drive to Lancaster, PA where we met Popeye and Lil Mak at the Hilton Garden Inn.  They appeared radiant and joyful in their roles as caretakers of 501 Shelter.  After a great visit, we promised we would drive to the 501 Shelter Thursday and go  hiking.  A phone call from KAT brought us good news: she will be married this fall in Traverse City, Michigan.  Yahoo!

8 March, Thurs: We wasted little time in reaching Parker-Lexus in Little Rock, arriving by 8 AM  to replace the front tire.  It is easy to see why Parker Lexus was voted #1 Lexus Dealer in the US in 2010: they could not have been more cordial and accommodating.  The courtesy driver named Jorge drove us to an I-Hop for breakfast and picked us up again when we had finished. We were on the road again by eleven AM with a nice bag of cookies they slipped in as a thank you.  NO.  We didn't eat the cookies. With a new tire under the designated driver we drove NE on I-40 accompanied by ominous black clouds looming to the north;  gusts of wind whipped the car, objects blew across the median and finally rain came down in torrents.   Crossing the Mississippi River bridge traffic was backed up for a long distance in the opposite lanes: a semi-truck was on its side blocking traffic.  Emergency vehicles flashed their lights attempting to maneuver through the traffic to reach the truck.  Our lanes being open quickly moved us beyond the scene with no knowledge of what happened next or how long the traffic sat on the bridge waiting for the truck to be moved.   When we reached Memphis the downpour made it difficult to read the signs. We made a wrong turn that took us through the heart of the city.  We were pleasantly surprised with the nice drive downtown Memphis accompanied by Elvis singing away on a CD,  Lunch was at a nice Ruby Tuesday restaurant on the far east side.  The excitement of the day signaled a need to stop early in Jackson, TN for fuel and sleep at a Comfort Inn.  The room is surprisingly nice,  With one exception.  There is a ten thousand pound gorilla pacing on the second floor above our room.  One of us should know better than agree to a first floor room!

7 March, Wed.  On the road again!  Just like old times, arrival and departure, plus packing in the meantime and in-between time.  Ron discovered a possible manufacturer's defect in the left front tire a couple of hours SW of Little Rock.  Despite the late hour, we phoned and e-mailed the Lexus dealer to anticipate our arrival the first thing tomorrow.  We found a Holiday Inn Express at Malvern.
6 March, Tues. Arrived at genealogy cousin Dorothy B. loaded with home-made bread, lingonberry jam and fresh flowers in perfect time to eat lunch.  As usual, we had a marvelous time discussing genealogy and nutrition with Dorothy who  celebrated her 95th birthday not too long ago.
5 March, Mon:  Departing today for Denton, TX  then onward and upward to Philadelphia while zigging and zagging avoiding bad weather. 
4 March, Sudoku, I-Hop, Rambo CD's, packing again. 
3 March, Home Sweet Home.
2 March, Fri:  Dreaming is done.  Today's the day.  One more walk to the recycling center with stuffs, Sistah Carol arrives at 7:30 to drop off more stuffs at the storage unit and off we go to STL for the flight home.  No more Virtual.  Now Reality.  Reality!!!  Cynthia's eyes were wide and huge when Ron exited the airport to surprise her in thirty year old clothing dug out of his storage locker he calls his "Gold-Digger Repellant."   The teen-age girls in the Walden Fitness center ohhed and ahhed over Ron's cool shirt, "Neat shirt!"  Cynthia dived for the restroom stifling belly crunching laughter. 

Teen-age girls LOVED the shirt.  

Leather uppers to cover hiking boots in rain

1 March, Thurs: Thank God for friends like Maxine, Doug, Connie, Brian, Joe H., to name a few, for the gifts of housing, transportation, meals and marvelous camaraderie the past two months.  Thank God!

February is for Lovers, Happy Valentine's Day. I LOVE YOU over and over.

29 Feb: Very Little Sleep set off an early AM Panic.  Breakfast at Denny's with Maxine, Doug and Judy was marvelous; a fun, delightful time was had by all of the survivors.  Doug and Maxine took Ron to the PO to mail packages arriving right at the time Connie phoned with an offer to eat leftover turkey; she boogied over to the PO  and provided transportation for errands with a drop-off  back to the house.  Four more items need packing.  The Historical Society of Philadelphia wrote with a request for the Rambo books.  Doug was kind enough to offer a ride to the PO and to the recycling center tomorrow.  Tomorrow - tomorrow - it's almost tomorrow.  By the end of this day, excitement and joy returned at the major accomplishments of the past two months.  HOMECOMING: Friday, 2 March, 10:00 AM  Flight: CO5285  - Operated by Trans States Airlines dba United Express. SMOOCH


28 Feb: Good day with Don and Ann S.  Lost day for packaging books to be mailed to libraries, etc.

27 Feb: Awake by 4:something.  Boxes packaged, sealed and returned to the infamous storage locker at Edwardsville, IL thanks to Sistah Carol and her truckmobile.   HOMECOMING: Friday, 2 March, 10:00 AM  Flight: CO5285  - Operated by Trans States Airlines dba United Express. SMOOCH

26 Feb:Sunday

Cynthia and Granddaughter Kiira - (St. Edwards U)

 25 Feb: Dinner party cancelled tonight. Dinner with Connie McK tomorrow night.  Who wants to have a play-by-play description of re-packing boxes of documents with separator pages and copies of boxes of documents with separator pages and copious notes identifying exactly what is in the box and why and what for?  Please send a self-addressed LARGE box for detailed reply; send a second LARGE box for copy of detailed reply for storage locker. hahahaha!   Smooch Smooch and son Jon are visiting a granddaughter and a friend's granddaughter in Austin, TX. 

24 Feb: The shoulder seems fine apart from some stiffness.  Packaging process continues with the 2nd of March approaching like a bullet train.  The boxes will be ready to returned to the storage locker Monday with help from Sistah Carol and her vehicle.  Carol won the round of who paid for dinner of egg white omelets at Denny's last night. The waiter quickly corrected Ron's omelet for eggwhites instead of the 10 grams of fat yolked eggs.  Cynthia, in Texas, attended her granddaughter's opening night performance as Thing 2 in Seussical the Musical. 

Cynthia, granddaughter Rachel with BF Ryan

Cynthia's Granddaughter Zoe is Thing 2 [2nd from left] in Seussical the Musical

 23:  HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY THREE YEAR ANNIVERSARY!  This is a special day for the two's of us.  Ron proposed on bended knee in a restaurant filled with delighted onlookers - especially Smooch Smooch.  Later,  on the dock, in front of God and all the duckies on the lake, we made our vows to  marry.  The joyful wedding occurred 5/12/2011.  See what falling in love does to the brain:  http://www.myhealthnewsdaily.com/2229-falling-love-brain.html 

22 Feb: Pain in the right shoulder joint grew progressively worse starting at three PM.  Motrin, iced the shoulder and a hot bath relieved the discomfort (PAIN).  By ten-thirty the pain was gone. No doubt a muscle was torn in the process of carrying two very heavy bags home from the storage locker.  

 21 Feb: The internet has been down two days.  Recycling is proceeding successfully; packaging is progressing.  While walking to Starbucks a five AM, I reflected on how much I love you and how amazing our love is.  I love you.

Missed the connection with the librarian so genealogy materials found a good home in the library on the shelf for items waiting to be re-stacked. 
 
19 Feb.  Thank God Thank God Thank God

18 Feb: The Valentine arrived by snail mail yesterday, deep in the heart of Texas, SURPRISING Smooch Smooch;  she was quite delighted with the romantical notes, especially the suggestion we dress up to go rock n' rollin again and again soon.  We could dress up and put a CD in the computer and dance in the hotel rooms!   8 year old nephew Kyle's big birthday bash was a grand success.  Ron reaped rewards for delivering chocolate kisses from Aunt Cynthia to Erika and Chelsea: lots of hugs.  In Kyle's excitement to open gifts he did not fully read the note promising monetary remuneration from Uncle Ron by buying each box or envelope that was not torn.  What a SMART UNCLE!

Carols' floppy drive may be getting overworked.  But, the three most important missing documents have been found in Sistah Carol's possession.
I love you, love you, love you...  Smooch! 13 days

17 Feb:  Awakened again at 4:30 AM after only 6 hours of sleep.  Oh well, today the pressure is off because "so much" packing and winnowing and floppy copying was done yesterday.  The piles of papers are NOT significantly reduced, but the trend towards more entropy has reversed; one set of copies is set to recycle, the bottom of one box is covered, and the inventory of those materials is updated.  RELIEF.  Today's plan is to run out with Eric at 9:30 to purchase a present for Kyle's b'day party Saturday, a Wii game: Jumpstart (educational) Escape from Adventure Island.  Today is the day to seal the base of the doorway with a silicone seal "cofferdam" abutting the door.  If wind permits, it is also the day to extract a tons of stuff to see if one more box or suitcase containing genealogy can be found.  (It seems impossible that the three most desirable  papers are still hiding.)

16 Feb (newly edited): Again unable to sleep well; awakened irretrievably at 6AM after only 4.5 hours of sleep.  The pressure is mounting to finish all photographing, re-packaging, winnowing, thrashing etc. before the return flight on the 2nd of March (thank goodness it isn't the ides of May).  Fortunately the photography is done once, so the only additions needed are improvements to clipped images.  Never mind that this is more than Ron ever expected to accomplish in Edwardsville, the list of projects needing immediate attention is overwhelming.  Oh well, one thing at a time, and the blog is very, very important (although often neglected).
Nephew Eric came by in the afternoon, and we enjoyed a pleasant lunch at Denny's before he dropped me off at the storage locker.  I was in time to say "Hi" to the girls before they closed up shop for the evening.  No water was apparent under the door, so it only gets wet when the wind blows differently.  The sunny walk back was very pleasant along the bicycle path.  It was very calming to accomplish another session copying diskettes and winnowing paper.

15 Feb: Sistah Carol and Ron enjoyed a marvelous afternoon of companionship.  The e-vile older sister even tried to atone for sins past by buying Ron dinner at Denny's.  Stay tuned; more details later.

14 Feb:  Valentines Day.  Promptly at midnight, Ron wrote: I love you Smooch Smooch.  Ron is still "getting his genealogy onto the computer" in Edwardsville, IL, while Cynthia is basking in the Texas warmth and struggling with her multiple James Leas.  We are both so VERY busy although neither of us is sleeping as well as when together.  It is midnight, why is Ron not exhausted?  Because Google presented an invigorating challenge before allowing Ron to imbed a picture in an e-mail, but the Valentine is finally delivered, so to bed.  Goodnight for now.

I LOVE YOU

just says it all so simply, and

I LOVE YOU SO MUCH         (Shhh, not so loud in public, gracious me.)

After an hour lying abed, Ron resumed organizing things until 3:30 am.  The photo shoot is over, organization is next along with copying 400 old floppies onto disk.  Wish me luck.   LOTS of luck; it is mind-boggling to think that I have to have everything recycled or packed back into the storage locker in 18 days. Methinks another walk and/or slide to Starbucks is in order later this am.  And to bed again with much better success although only until 7am.  After checking the forecast (warming and dry), Ron postponed a visit to Starbucks until later.  At 10:30am the streets and sidewalks were mostly clear of snow & ice, the lawns and rooftops were lovely and white.
The results of the latest labs are good again: total Cholesterol = 122, HDL =54, LDL =54, Triglycerides =72, LP(a) =34.  LP(a) is my genetic nemesis, Lipoprotein (a).  Elevated levels are a genetic inheritance affecting only 3% of the male population, and I'm one of the lucky ones.  It potentiates LDL and increases its artery-clogging propensities. (There, now I can file that paper for the record.  Onward, transcribing notes into digital to enable reference while traveling.)

13 Feb: Snow at 4pm creating lovely, slippery snow white fields, streets, etc.  Fortunately Ron walked to Starbucks for coffee at 9am when he first discovered the forecast for 1 to 3 inches of slippery.  Today Aunt Verla's newspaper clippings provided the most entertainment of the entire photo shoot.  The several sets of Rambo books are ordered and should arrive mere days before Ron's departure back to Texas, so preparation to bounce them to their intended destinations will be crucial (copyright office, libraries, archives).

12 Feb, Sun:  Photo sessions, dinner with good friend Connie McK.  Ron called Smooch Smooch after hearing a romantic song, but he forgot the name of the song while talking! (Just like a male, scheesh.)  We are counting the days: 19.  Nine Month Anniversary!  Yahoo! I love you just the way you are!

11 Feb, Sat:  Ron walked (hungry) two miles for groceries yesterday in 16 above zed on slightly icy sidewalks; must have revved up energy to enable working until 5:30 this AM.  The wind chill index is five degrees above zed on this afternoon's journey into the frozen northland of Edwardsville, Illinoizzz.

8 Feb, Wed:  Dates to Remember: Valentine's Day 14 Feb. and 2 March-N home.

6 Feb:  Lord only knows why I'm awakening so early every morning .. 3:30am this morning after getting to bed exhausted after 10pm last night.  First object today was to see if my bid was successful to purchase archaic technology, a Palm Vx PDA.  Nope, outbid at $3.25 (+$6 shipping), so Ron is now auctioning off the charging station w/ sync cradle etc.; results expected to be zip in 3 days.  Smooch Smooch arrived back in Texas late this morning after a great trip to CA with her adult children.  She and the Lord know why Ron awakens so early every morning: he misses her!  Smooch.

5 Feb, Sunday:  Another nice but chilly day in Edwardsville, Illinois.  Another 600+ photographs of genealogy documents taken in black & white.  Another several Smooch phone calls (smooch, smooch).  And a long, long walk to the storage locker & return.  These bicycle paths are enticing but misleading; I've gotten lost every time I've set foot on one.  I did a little more on the Rambo CD and added several more pictures to Eric's RPM coins web site.

1 Feb.  I love you!  Smooch!

Another year. Already ?? !! 30 Jan update

31 Jan: Ron brought Don and Ann S. a load of laughter listening to him smooching on the phone during a visit today.  Ron picked up an old PC he left with them a gazillion years ago.  It may still work.  Cynthia is packing for a five day trip to Sacramento to visit aunts with her adult children in the AM.  

30 Jan:  Sorry to say that Ron & Cynthia are again separated by half a continent.  HowSomeEver we are both getting things done, Ron photographing genealogy materials, Cynthia with doctors visits and packing for her next big adventure.  During his second walk of the day, Ron called Joe H. who invited him for salads for dinner coupled with amusing electronic gadgetry.

29 Jan: Beautiful blue skies ensured that Smooch Smooch enjoyed a smooth flight from STL to Texas.  We consistently get asked, "Where is home?"  and just as often, people are puzzled when Ron says he is homeless or adds, "Wherever our feet are."  Ron figured out a perfect answer, "Home is when I hold her in my arms."  After being  apart for 16 long days (the longest in 2.5 years!), we had a marvelous five day homecoming, voting each other the most popular at our party of two: he easily won the title Homecoming King and she Homecoming Queen.  She is off to the lake house and Ron is back to work until 2 March!

We had a fun day on Friday afternoon at the Belleville LDS Library/, so we returned on Saturday PM when lunch plans with stepmother Helen were cancelled because she was ill.  The Illinois genealogy section had early records of Silas and James Bankson families only twelve miles from Trenton, IL where Ron graduated from high school.  Silas and James lived half mile from each other and about nine miles from the Trinity Lutheran Church.  Dick E., a friend from Belleville Junior high stopped in at Denny's for a nice visit. 
 
26 Jan:  What a relaxing day to spend by the fire updating the blog and adding a few coins to Eric's site.  Highlight tonight will be drinks at 8 with Lawrence and Margaret at the Fox and Hounds, the in-house tavern with a huge stone fireplace. 

Warm Hearth at the Cheshire Hotel STL

 25 Jan: Today's the day!  Boyohboy! Smooch Smooch due to arrive tenish, weather permitting. Smooch Smooch I love you!  (For those of you confused, Smooch Smooch is Cynthia and Smooch is Ron.)

What a wonderful homecoming !!  Delayed, of course, by Texas weather, thunderstorms and tornadoes oh my, and Missouri weather, rain at 31 degrees; but the plane touched down at just before noon, Enterprise found us a rental car at 9am, Walmart provided flowers, and we were overjoyed to see each other again after 16 llooongg days apart.  (Fortunately we both stayed VERY busy, so the time passed quickly.)  It is easy to get lost trying to find Clayton Road from the airport, but MOST amusing to find ourselves driving by the Micro Center and Trader Joe's while lost.  I wanna tell you that Nancy gave us the perfect advice to stay at a boutique medieval English hotel: Cheshire Inn.  The rooms are named after English authors such as Beatrix Potter, John Milton, Evelyn Waugh, etc. Cynthia LOVES our room and the ambiance, the new management is delightful (Harry supervises a team of superstars), but we had to go out to eat until they finish remodeling the restaurant where, amusingly, we met Lawrence and Margaret last year for dinner.  The roads were still clear of ice (at 31 degrees now), and we made it safely to a delightful trout and steamed veggies dinner at Oceana.

 24 Jan:  Ron had a busy day today: two photo sessions of genealogy papers; late breakfast with Carol at Denny's where Maxine sneaked up from behind to cover my eyes and play "guess who"; her husband Doug is another joyful delight; in the late afternoon, Ron and nephew Eric uploaded photos onto Eric's RPM coins website - special photos taken through a microscope.

Thanks to Maxine for the photo of Ron and evile sistah Carol.

Loving Older Sister Carol and Ron Yesterday and Today

23 Jan:  Edwardsville, Illinois near Dunlap Lake, Eighty-one geese snacked on something in the front yard this morning.  After counting, I moved to the window for a better view, and fully half of the goose necks extended straight up, and their noisy communication increased dramatically.  Then the gooses went for a walk across the frozen lake, another amusing sight.  Only two more days until my beloved Smooch Smooch arrives from Texas.  I love you.  Another cold, cloudy day = another good day to stay indoors photographing hundreds of genealogy papers (literally hundreds per day, thousands per week).  The camera battery takes a couple of hours to recharge, so later, after shooting another couple of hundred pictures, I'll walk to Deals to get more cereal.

22 Jan, Sun:  Photography continues in Illinois. In Texas while re-packing the car, Cynthia happened upon a poem evoking poignant memories of a visit to Jerry (now deceased) and Maggie.  Jerry gifted us with a copy of the poem he wrote for his wife.

Whatever signs of age our years ensure
the states of love, un-aged, will yet endure,
and though our art and flesh are past their prime,
nothing in our bond can change with time.

Whichever of us goes, then none are gone;
there's no such thing as the surviving one,
Whichever stays, the other's also there
but gives no indication of just where.

Jerome Y. Lettvin 

SMOOCH!

21 Jan: The Edwardsville Public Library has a good genealogy collection, but does NOT have the Rev. War Pension Applications books.  Ron and nephew Eric met for "lunch" at Denny's and spent the afternoon inserting pictures into Eric's RPM Coins website after first uploading 40 photos to Picasa.  Back in Texas, our Lexus, "Mom", strutted  her stuff all the way home from the auto 'beauty' shop!  Smooch smooch is even more pumped than "Mom."

20 Jan: Connie & Ann invited me to see the Monet "Lily Pads" exhibit at the Art Museum, so we drove over about 11:30 and were back by 4pm.  The painting is 42 feet long ! and is marvelous because there are so many diffuse colors in the water.  We arrived home just as the freezing rain was beginning.  Connie reminded me that the 25th is only a few days away ... Oh joy, Oh JOY, Cynthia arrives that day.  Smooch.

19 Jan:  Another day of bone chilling cold.  Silly me decided to walk to the storage locker for one small box.  I sat in the office a few minutes to thaw before digging around in the locker.  The box I wanted is in Texas, the other two boxes of interest were empty.  On the return my nose and cheeks became numb leading me to suspect frigid temperatures, and sure enough, time and temperature at one bank said 4:45 and 27 degrees.

18 Jan: Where does the time go??  Fun, fun, fun.  It is midnight-thirty, and I shoulda been asleep hours ago, but the techie in me just wouldn't let go of the search for ALL the right phrases to respond to one simple question, and 3 hours and 5 paragraphs later I hadn't done anything really useful.  I hate meetings.  OK, computer finished its job; goodnight.  Joe H. picked Ron up at the Edwardsville library and carted him over to Micro Center in St. Louis where we both bought 2 Gigabyte SD cards for $6 each.  Ron was overjoyed to find a Trader Joe's next door for more fat free bread.

Thank you, Linda B. for the marvelous poem: 

Ron and Cynthia

on the occasion of their marriage in the church of their ancestors

May 12, 2011

Now the Old Swedes' Church
Prepares for their future life.
Scans its memories

Where did they come from?>
See their ancestor's bones dance
Within their bodies.

The swallow flew on
Through sun and stormy weather.
She found a warm roost.

Here the antelope
Finished his long migration
He knew he was home.

Thus bound together
On the winding path of life...
They motorcycle!

Spring gave beginnings,
Summer shaped their growing.
Now, pick Autumn joy!


17 Jan: Sister Carol again carted Ron to the storage locker to get two remaining two boxes, then we repaired to Denny's for nourishment.  Amazing what one can learn at age 64; the lady at the next table tipped the waitress nicely, then pulled out two more ones for the cook.

16 Jan: You can shove as hard as you like, but you won't move a 1000-pound steel object.  Ron and nephew Eric found that even with a hydraulic cart lifting the front 6 inches, we were still unable to move it much.  But eventually we raised it enough to shove a 4x4 more than halfway under it.  When we lowered the jack, the object teetered up onto the 4x4s, enough to be above the water line (we hope).  The sledge and industrious shoving repositioned it within an inch of the wall.  All is good, and tomorrow we will see who sprung what muscle.

14 Jan, Sat: Today's forecast was a balmy 40 degrees, so sister Carol volunteered to drive Ron to the storage locker to grab 14 boxes of genealogy junk.  We ate breakfast at Denny's with nephew Eric.  It is a delight to see my sister & nephew.  Ron certainly got a fair exercise lifting boxes and carrying them up a short staircase. 

13 Jan, Fri: Temp did not reach 30 degrees.  BRRR.  Breakfast was a bowl of cereal and three beers.  Well!  That was what was available in the refrigerator.

12  Jan, Thurs: Smooch Smooch phoned at 7:05 while Ron was walking [in the rain] with Jim Z to the Trolley Stop for breakfast.  We managed some quick I love you's while Ron and Jim waited for the proprietor to open the door, ate and boogied back to the seminary to pick up belongings.  We shoulda checked the train schedules; he missed the SEPTA train by 10 minutes and waited 45 for the next.  Math computed quickly 9:45 + hour ride to airport + security lines = close call.  Adding the rainy weather into the equation promised a later take-off.  If the the flight to St. Louis, MO had departed on time at 11:40 AM, he would have barely made it.  As it was the flight boarded only 10 minutes late.  Arrival time in STL is mid-afternoon.  Then the fun began as Old Man Winter said "Welcome home, Ron."  It was chilly at the airport and waiting for the Metro, awfully cold walking to the bus, but downright brutal at 21 degrees with fierce winds walking the mile to Brian's.  Ron ain't so smart, so he walked another mile back to Dierbergs to shop for cereal, etc.  That mile was against the wind .. ufta.

8 Month Anniversary: Smooch and Smooch Smooch

11 Jan, Wed: Working away in "New Sweden."  Enjoyed a marvelous dinner with John & Emily, a classmate of his & wife, Jim, and John P at Campbell's in Chestnut Hill.  

10 Jan, Tues: Up at five AM - much work to be done in the Archives and on Peter Craig's computer.  And much fun to be had at Trolley Car Diner and McMinamis Pub.

9 Jan, Mon:  Heavy rain challenged my smooch driving the Lexus to the airport; passenger Ron enjoyed seeing how the torrential rain really filled the streams and rivers.  (Even the lake is up several feet.)  The normally heavy traffic was a bit lighter but came to a stop once or twice before we arrived at IAH with bare minutes to spare.  Then Ron waited an hour because the airport closed briefly for the heavy thunderstorm to pass.  After boarding and taxiing, there was another delay for the east-bound airways to clear.  At 11:20 AM the flight to Philly finally flew "up and away" arriving at 3:38 Eastern time.  Ron boarded SEPTA (Philadelphia transit trains) for an hour's train ride to the Mt. Airy station, four blocks from the seminary.  Security anticipated his arrival with a lodging key in hand.  Ron enjoyed dinner with the guys and the small bed  in the seminary dorm provided a good night's sleep. 

8 Jan 2012, Sunday: Packing Packing Packing!  Ron is packing for Philadelphia

 Water level at Lake House now Beachfront

Blue Heron

Rick and Crew catering at Lake House

Water Front now Beach Front

 7 Jan: Montgomery County Public Library has the fourth largest genealogy collection in the state of Texas.  Cynthia is entertaining kids and kidlets


6 Jan: MD Anderson Appointments for Smooch Smooch

5 Jan:  Results are in.  In doctor Gould's professional opinion, I am still alive.  What a relief !  I cannot tell you the anxiety that we have both endured, thinking that he might deliver the opposite opinion.  Cynthia is doing wonderfully well.  On the other hand, two of my arteries are ENTIRELY plugged.  Just consider me another of God's miracles.  Life is good, and Cynthia is reassured after reading blogs of individuals who have lived for decades with such a condition.  (Yes, Virginia, it is possible through an adaption called "collateral circulation."  Motorcycle is running! Yahoo!!!!!!!!!!

4 Jan: Doctor Appointments!  PET scan.
3 Jan: Fun at the Lake House - Home for Now
2 Jan: Point Clear, AL to Montgomery, TX in 9 hours.
1 Jan: New Year's Day in Point Clear at the Grand Hotel in pictures:

Sudoku Ron 2012

Hot Tub at Point Clear - Grand Hotel

Beach Walk Marvelous Homes

Family Friendly Grand Hotel

1 January 2012:  Happy New Year!!!! See Photos

December: Oh, what fun! Oh, what fun! Oh, what fun!

31 Dec, Sat: A short walk along the beach to Sharon's Cafe for a huge, hearty breakfast and we're off to visit genealogy cousin Martha L., about an hour's drive, en route to Point Clear, Alabama for New Year's weekend at the Grand Hotel.  Wishing everyone a BEATTY Happy New Year!

Several amateurs and one professional fisherman

30 Dec, Fri: La Mananitas... the sun is now appearing (seems late at 7:07) and another day dawns, but our hotel isn't oriented for winter sunrises, so we see it only by leaning dangerously far over the balcony. Two hour walk along the beach holding hands while leering muscles were covertly working overtime.  The temp of 73 degrees brought out the bikinis and bikini minded.

Sunset Mexico Beach, FL

29 Dec, Thurs: Seven hour drive from Macon on Hwy 91 southwest  past acres of pecan orchards, peanuts and Plains, GA where Jimmy's Hot Dog Stands and stores capitalizing on the name Carter line the roads.  We stopped in Andersonville Civil War Prison where an Overturff ancestor's brother was one of the 13,000 malnourished and ill treated prisoners that perished in the camp.  Prisoners were poorly housed in tents made of pieces of clothing or blankets thrown over sticks in the ground. One stream ran through the 26 acres that gave provided drinking water and water to flush the trench dug latrines.  Many had no shelter at all.  Food had to be purchased.  Speaking of food: don't plan to stop for food in Albany, GA; be certain to eat long before you arrive there.  White's seafood was closed, and we walked into and backed out of Bess' Restaurant fast before fainting from grease fumes.  After crossing into Florida from far southwestern Georgia we turned straight south on Florida 71.   The drive was pleasant, with light traffic, but the scenery wasn't anything special.  Cynthia subsisted on Wasa Crackers with fat free cheese and a protein drink throughout the day until our arrival at Bailey's Crab Shack in Port Joe, FL where she was happily crabby eating a bucket of delicious snow crabs.  Total bill was $28.00 for the twos of us.  Onward to El Governor Hotel (el cheapo) right on the beach and barely above high tide.  The rooms are $69.00 per night.  We splurged for a couple of days despite the damage to the budget.

 28 Dec, Wed: Ron was up until 5am cloning and computering.  He was pleased to have three clones of his beloved, antiquated hard drive.  He slept for only a couple of hours before packing the car early, and leaving "on time" only two days late.  We drove five hours from Columbia, SC to Macon, GA on GA Hwy 88 and were delighted that Cynthia's beautiful grandnieces, Camille and Danielle, could join us for dinner.  They provided us with a marvelous evening and good memories.

Oohh La La, lookie the BEAUTiful girlies

27 Dec: Raining, cloning, hardly working, lunch at Lizard's Thicket to see Susan. 

Great time with Vince, Mary and Dick at Bonefish Grill.

The manager of Bonefish remembered us (who wouldn't?)

26 Dec:   The second Christmas card was delivered a day late, and Ron copied the sentiments from the PERFECT card that Cynthia found:
To my wife, my partner in love, my companion in pleasure, my soul's truest mate through this journey of life:
In your voice I hear it,
In your smile I see it
In your touch I feel it
You are all the things I love.
I've never loved anyone the way I love you.
I've never known anyone so well and still felt there was so much left to discover...
never been able to say, "I love you" and have it mean something beautifully different every time and enjoy vying for those "first I love you" points every day.
I've never known someone I could spend hours with and still long for more time to share...never felt so close to someone in so many ways.
And even though I'll never be able to tell you with words how much you mean to me... I hope you understand that the love I feel for you is more beautiful, more meaningful than words could every say.  Merry Christmas with all my love!  Thank God for Cynthia
(The original card was a big hit with Ron, the replay a big hit for Ron.)

We enjoyed the typical caustic male banter while walking with Jim, Steve, and Dick for miles in the subdivision.  Ron spent the day cloning hard drive; Cynthia wrote until Mary, Vince and Dick joined us for dinner at Ruby Tuesday's. 


25 Dec, Christmas Day, 2011:  Merry Christmas to our family and friends.
Cynthia was SHOCKED to discover that Santa Claus had arrived early in the AM to drop presents under the tree of roses.  (We couldn't even find the chimney at the Hilton Garden Inn, but Santa is too clever.)(Santa's eVile older sister woulda been proud that he finally learned to wrap a presentable present; his mother proud that he recycled previous gift wrap.)  We walked with Dick while Ron tried to remember where he left notes about cloning a hard drive.  Dinner with Dick at Ruth's Chris Steak House.  YUMMY.  


24 Dec, Sat: Early AM departure for Columbia, SC.  (i.e. before noon)  Long pleasant drive across rural South Carolina on U.S. highway 76 followed by dinner at Bonefish Grill  with Dick R upon arrival in Columbia.

21 Dec, Wed:  The seascape is marvelous whether walking the beach or watching from windows.  Enjoying temps in the low to high sixties, sometimes windy, sometimes VERY windy.

Right after the usual breakfast, we walked on the beach to Fort Macon on the east end of the island; 2 hours round trip including the restroom stops. Fascinating to see  former cannon housing and learn that the fort was in use through WWI.   We are seeing several large ships enter the narrows  --- maybe bringing service men home for Christmas???  Bro Dean googled the ships (United States Navy ship 21), they are Marine landing craft.

14 Dec, Wed:  Ron rises early almost daily to work on endless writing projects. Cynthia is writing a new book about three men named James Lea of Caswell County, NC.  We have two remaining weeks for our writing projects. This is a terrific place for writing besides the views and immediacy of the Atlantic Ocean: a restaurant is onsite for breakfast and lunch; two great restaurants are about a mile each way walking the beach at sunset. Plans are to return to NC for further research in March.

11 Dec, Sun: Its beginning to FEEL a lot like Christmas! Oooo! Ouuu Oooo!  A blast of Arctic air routed us from la-la land en route to breakfast.  Dec. fleurs warm our hearts:

10 Dec, Sat: The CD's were mailed, but only after arriving at the PO without the fanny pack and money necessitating a turn-around to the condo and return to the PO.  We walked about 90 minutes - maybe two hours on the beach, plus the walkity to Amos Mosquito's restaurant. Gorgeous sunset.  Jethro... is the aka of tonight's waiter.  The wait staff uses southern nicknames like Sweetie Pie, Sugar Plum, and Cutie Pie.  Now we know Jethro, too.  

9 Dec, Fri:  90 minute walk on the beach plus a thirty to forty minute RT walk to Amos Mosquito's Restaurant for delicious chicken dinner.

8 Dec, Thurs:  We woke up to chilly weather!   We walked: The warmth of the sun made the hour walk on the beach very pleasant despite the strong wind which was an invitation to surfers.  We worked:  Packages are ready to mail, letters and some cards are written.  We played: Ron in the pool and Cynthia in the fitness center's sauna. We ate: The Channel Marker Restaurant was closed for a private party tonight; the kitchen manager recommended Amos Mosquito's quite close to the condo which proved to be outstanding.  The waitress was named "Cutie Pie" and indeed she is a cutie. 

7 Dec. Wed: Walking towards Fort Macon:  Lots of seagulls parked on the beach enjoying the warm weather. After dinner at Ruby Tuesday's we returned to walk the beach but the wind was so strong only one of us walked with the wind to his back.  Big Waves!

4 Dec, Sunday:  See the sunrise at Atlantic Beach, NC, below.   A gazillion birds were hovering over the waters.  Sightings from two walks on the beach: Cars, jeeps, a few people, lots of seashells, dead jellyfish, a host of seagulls including a one-legged gull hopping, small birds with tall legs and short legs moving ever so quickly, a dolphin surfacing close to shore, and  a marvelous sky scape.  Ron wrote a grant proposal for the Swedish Colonial Society.  Goal is to accomplish lots of writing: letters, record keeping, research, CD mailings.  Dinner at the Channel Marker was tasty, the waitress friendly, but the asparagus was shiny (OIL!)  She complied with steamed veggies and no oil.  After the dine, wine and another walk, we are back at the computers.  What a surprise to learn Cabernet Sauvignon has 17 gm sugar and far more calories than Chardonnay.  The calorie bank has an overdraft tonight.

3 Dec Sat:  We were on the road by six AM with nary a breakfast place to eat until we arrived in Fenwick at Dirty Harry's.  Nice place, friendly waitress and a humongous omelet.   The early morning departure meant we arrived in Atlantic Beach, NC by 3:30 PM.  The condo is very pleasant - full ocean view - good space and wi-fi.  The beach is close.  The sunset walk on the beach was marvelous watching the pelicans dive bomb for fish along the way.  This is  a perfect place for serious writing and relaxation with a restaurant in-house, an indoor heated swimming pool, fitness center (haven't checked to see the quality), an outdoor pool and that important Wi-Fi.  The bed is comfy, too.  We opened the windows to keep the bedroom cool.

2 Dec Fri:  A late morning followed by packing the car for a lovely drive down the Delmarva peninsula.  Lunch at Jessop's Tavern in New Castle, DE was a delight!  The wait staff wore period colonial clothing. The turkey salad was very good.

1 Dec Thurs: The SCS Archives Committee met at the seminary.  The Ronald S. Beatty Collection was added to the Craig Collection.  See photo of Ron presenting his work to Governor Sally Bridwell, Councillor Herb Rambo, Curator pro tem Beverly Walker, Archivist, The Rev. Dr. Kim-Eric Williams.   The Rev. Dr. Cynthia Forde-Beatty is pictured with Curator Walker  examining a new ForeFather application.  The group lunched at McMenamins Irish Pub.