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| Ron (with sunburn) & Cynthia at Pritikin |
31 Mar, Sunday: Happy Easter! Jesus Christ is Risen Today! Alleluia! We ate at Ruby Tuesday again, and we walked again, but we didn't climb the hills in deference to Cynthia's hamstring.
30 Mar: Onward on I-20 E and I-75 N to Marietta, GA near a Ruby Tuesday (click here), our favorite restaurant with a reliably good salad bar. The hotel, a Hilton Garden Inn, is in a lovely wooded location with blooming dogwood and azalea. After a late lunch, we walked for a half mile to find a trail into the woods. Indeed, there is a trail down into a ravine we chose not to tackle. Ron is working on the MIT reunion, Cynthia sent Easter emails to half the world, and she did resistance strength building. The fitness center here looks very nice.
29 Mar: We had a lovely breakfast with niece Danielle this AM; it is wonderful to see her self-confidence as she runs her father’s business in Perry, Georgia. She sang the song Tomorrow for us. Powerful voice. I want her to record. We left Perry, GA for Douglasville, enjoying a lovely, pleasant ride with spring bursting forth en route. The wisteria, azaleas and flowering pear trees are beautiful to behold. We were delighted to discover a Jasons Deli in Douglasville and a genealogical cousin, Skip, met us there for a great conversation. Now it is time to rest. route: GA 7 W -> US 341 N -> US 41 N to L on GA 92 at Experiment, Georgia to R on GA 166 W 2 mi to R on Chapel Hill Rd N 7 mi to L on Douglas Blvd and Hampton Inn.
28 Mar: At 7:30 am this morning, it was raining industriously, but that soon stopped, although a small rivulet ran to a drain in the parking lot for an hour or two. About 10:30 the bike was packed, and we were riding - but in the wrong direction.!! Ron was disoriented and thought he was on US 341, 5 miles north. After we had ridden a couple of miles and failed to find Crispen Blvd, Ron realized his error, backtracked to I-95, rode north 5 miles and proceeded as envisioned (US 341 W to stop light, L on Chrispen to first R onto Stately Oaks and R again) to visit Don and Doris, genealogy cousins. After pleasant conversation, Cynthia decided we needed to leave, but Don forestalled that attempt by inviting us to lunch at Surcheros. The salads were perfect. Don still drives very comfortably and confidently. We then said our goodbyes, got on the motorcycle and rode north and west on US highway 341 all the way to Perry, Georgia. We saw lightning once before passing close by a huge dark cloud that did shower upon us for fifteen minutes. Thankfully the windscreen and fairing kept us dry. We arrived at Perry at 5:15, but Danielle is out of town until tomorrow morning, so we will see her for breakfast at the hotel at 9 am. After all that, we walked half a mile to I-HOP for egg white veggie omelets and picked up berries and bananas from Walmart. Ron is now trying to catch up with neglected projects, this blog being first. route: US 341 N to Perry, but missed a turn approaching town, so took GA 224 W to L on I-75 N one exit to the Holiday Inn Express on GA highway 7.
27 Mar: On the road again! We rushed to pack and leave before 10 AM because rain was forecast to begin as early as 2 pm. We were only mildly surprised to run into light rain as we began riding north on I-295 bypassing Jacksonville to the east. The rain intensified slightly so we exited onto Baymeadows Road, serendipitously close to a Hampton Inn and St. Marys Seafood House, where we enjoyed a salad bar and baked potatoes. When we finished, the rain had stopped and the pavement was dry all the way to exit 29 at Brunswick, Georgia. (Ron forgot that Georgia has a helmet law, so we are thankful that no cops saw us.) Cynthia enjoyed riding across the one tall bridge on I-95. Tomorrow we will see Don B. in the morning and continue on to Marietta in the afternoon. We ate dinner early at Denny's and took a brief walk to a homeless tent in the woods (sightseeing). route: return to R on Tomoka Drive N 8 mi crossing I-4 to R on US 92 E briefly to L on I-95 N to exit 333 R on FL 9B N and I-295 N bypassing Jacksonville to I-95 N into Georgia to US 17 at exit 29 and Comfort Suites.
26 Mar: A lovely breeze kept us cool on a 2.5 mile walk through Monte’s subdivision, in the countryide close to Port Orange, Florida. Monte has trimmed a ton of detrius from palm trees in the couple of years he has lived here. Monte and Ellen have bought into physical activity and healthful eating also, so we've had lots of fine conversations. And then, late this afternoon, Monte drove us all to the National Seashore to enjoy another fine "home cooked" meal of salad, leftover chicken and rice on the beach. It was fun to see the big, gray-green breakers under cloudy skies at the beach. We even espied a US Post Office on the way home. Ron ate more mango for dessert after we returned home. Their home is in a subdivision named "A Quiet Place in the Country". However the neighboring subdivision is a fly-in subdivision for small plane pilots who frequently take off and land throughout the day. So much for the "quiet place."
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| cosin Monte and Ellen |
25 Mar: On the road again! We left Miami at one-thirty PM after saying goodbye to as many of our Pritikin friends as we could find to hug. We rode north on 87th Street, turned north and west on Florida Highway 27, turned east on I-75 and continued into heavier traffic on I-595 E endlessly until able to turn north on I-95 to Daytona Beach. It was a windy ride. Ron was surprised to discover that it was a full hour before we passed West Palm Beach 50 miles north and that Jupitor, Florida was 15 miles further. We exited onto FL 44 at mile marker 249, rode west to Tomoka Farm Road (FL 415), turned north for 4 miles to a R on Country Circle Drive, another R on Lakeside Drive and arrived at Ron’s cousin Monte’s lovely home at 7:30 PM. This is nearly country with large properties and two Lakeside Drives, one east of the small local lake and the other west of the lake. Of course we stopped at the incorrect one first despite Monte's good directions. Monte and Ellen had delayed dinner, awaiting our arrival, and fed us a tasty meal of brown rice, baked chicken and fresh garden greens from their gardens.
24 Mar, Sunday: For once Ron cooperated by packing luggage and boxes for shipping, thereby neglecting much-needed updates of this blog and his Burton 3rd site for the upcoming DTYD party reunion.
SUNDAY OFFERING
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| Another lovely Pritikin sunset |
22 Mar: Cynthia had Dexa scans for bone density and body composition. The BMI is 23.2, but bone density needs improvement. We met with our doctors. Ron didn’t do labs and Cynthia’s are perfect.
21 Mar: Missing Day! we must have been having too much fun! We had our doctor appointments with good news.
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| Ron with petite Pritikin salad |
20 We had a fantastic day! We don't remember what happened, but it must have been fantastic.
19 Mar: About four miles.
18 Mar: About five miles.
17 Mar, Sunday: Happy St. Patricks Day! Ron completed the challenging puzzle, all the while teaching a waiter how to say pUHzzle instead of pooozzle. See the wall of puzzles that Ron has completed, if they are the actual ones or photos of the puzzles, we don’t know.
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| The Pritikin "wall of puzzles" |
16 Mar: We had a lighter schedule today. Ron made great progress on the puzzle. Friends cheered him on. We went for a late walk.
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| gathered around the puzzle and puzzler |
15 Mar: Ron puzzled, we exercised, attended lectures, and ate. Ron is bent over the latest puzzle beneath a wall of puzzles mostly done by him
14 Mar: We both had doctor appointments. Cynthia had perfect lab results. Ron is down two pounds after gaining five but did not do labs again. We are enjoying our conversations with Steve and Heather, a couple from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and with the great Pritikin staff
13 Mar: The days are crazy busy with lectures, fitness, eating, and the granddaddy of puzzles.
12 Mar: Fasting Labs at 11:00 AM. Cynthia’s weight was down 1.5 pounds in two weeks, while Ron is up to 181. The puzzle has caused weight gain!
11 Mar: Cynthia made a trip to the Apple Store to send her watch in to be repaired. Unfortunately, (like UFFDA AWFUL) the watch cannot be repaired because it was microwaved in the MRI, and the Apple Care coverage is limited liability to repair. They would not take it as a trade in either. That was all very disappointing! Cynthia decided not to buy another watch (for about ten minutes) until she buckled and decided her watch was too important. Ron is making progress on the puzzle.
10 Mar, Sunday: Iowa women won the Big Ten Championship game.
SUNDAY OFFERING
9 Mar: This was another day with three work out sessions.
8 Mar: Two days in a row Cynthia had three work out sessions.
7 Mar: Uffda what did we do besides exercise, listen to lectures, eat and work on a puzzle?
6 Mar: Cynthia spent 3/4 of the day dealing with Apple Support, a real challenge. She has to bring the watch to an Apple Store, which is scheduled for Monday noon.
5 Mar: Our days are filled with classes.
4 Mar: Cynthia had a Pelvis MRI, and the new Apple Watch accidentally went into the machine for a few seconds and burned up.
3 March, Sunday: We really are crazy busy.
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| Cynthia dressed to dance |
2 March: Classes continue daily except for Mondays. Ron is making progress on the Pritikin puzzle. This one is a challenge. Dinner tonight was followed by Latin American dance lessons. Cynthia was unable to participate due to a pulled hamstring, but she still dressed for the occasion.
1 March: We arrived at Pritikin a week ago for continued investment in great health, not just good, but great health. The Pritikin benefits are numerous. We feel younger every year. Our arrival labs are gold-star-worthy. And Ron loves the jigsaw puzzles they buy for him. We have six classes a day; Ron’s favorite is Chef Vince’s cooking workshop because he gets to eat the leftovers. Cynthia says the fitness instructors love Ron because he dances to rock n roll music on the arc trainer, making for a very lively group. The lecturers love his comedic wit, and so does Cynthia, and now you know who wrote this paragraph.
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| Cynthia is the one in green |
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| Ron in green dancing on Arc trainer machine |
