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| Can you tell that it was cold this day? |
31 Mar: Chesapeake, Virginia to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware was 169 miles of breathtaking scenery that included the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnels. A whole lotta bridge goes over a whole lotta water. Traveling northwards on US 13 and US 113 we enjoyed seeing Spring newly springing all over again: crocus, redbuds, dogwoods, and cherry trees are blossoming. The forecast rain fell briefly halfway into the day’s journey. A covered carport, at a closed medical care center, offered shelter until the rain abated. More, and heavier, rain fell further on, but it was brief. We were quite happy to make it to the hotel dry (although the GPS routed us on DE 24 instead of the scenic route 1 up the coast.) Thanks to Dean and Janina for picking us up at our hotel in Rehoboth Beach, DE so we could enjoy seeing the spectacular views of Dean’s playground, the Delaware Bay! He is an avid surfer, biker, runner, participant in triathlons and marathons. We saw surfers in 45 degree water, a cyclist or two, and many runners. We thoroughly appreciated the camaraderie. We topped off the day with a three mile hike on the Gordon Pond Trail.
30 Mar: Roxboro, NC to Chesapeake, Virginia, was a four hour ride on a pleasant day, pleasant roads: NC 49 east to US 58 east to I-64 to the Hilton Garden Inn. (Ron remembered an impressive HGI near Norfolk (actually in Suffolk, VA), but Cynthia booked the HGI in Chesapeake. Ron's memory fell short several times on this trip. He really needs to consult his computer more diligently in the future.) A Ruby Tuesday restaurant was conveniently located (in Suffolk) 25 miles before Chesapeake, accented by pink cherry trees that looked like giant cotton candy. We are indeed sleepy, but somehow we managed a fast three mile walk before Cynthia compulsively tore into laundry before sleeping!
29 Mar: Roxbury, NC meant a day in the library, followed by an hour in the courthouse. It was surprising to discover photos of the abstracts taken today were already on the computer. But, a discovery of a needed document in the courthouse was just in the nick of time to race to the courthouse, Registrar of Deeds. We walked the .8 mile uphill to the library. After not eating all day, it will seem like an uphill returning to the hotel. Our experience with restaurants in town strongly suggested we make that return to the hotel and eat oatmeal. On our evening walk, which took us past Brookfield Eats we checked out the menu, and the baked sweet potatoes sounded good. So did the grilled salmon. It was delicious. Ron is eating soft foods.
28 Mar: We left Lake Wylie around 1 PM and arrived in Roxboro about 6 PM. The first several hours were on I-485, I-85 and I-40, so the only redeeming quality was the Ruby Tuesday that we found near the Charlotte Speedway. Once we exited onto North Carolina highway 119 and then turned onto NC 49 we were much more relaxed amid the pleasant early spring scenery until about 15 miles from Roxboro, when some hard object hit Ron full in the face just below his left eye. It hit so hard that it felt like a rock, and it cut his cheek below the eye, but the bone seems OK since the swelling is not significant. We stopped at a gas station soon afterwards and mopped the blood from the cheek. Ron is still taking blood thinners, so we are quite happy that the wound didn't bleed excessively. No telling whether this will make for sleeping problems tonight. I guess time will tell. Due to our late departure from Ed & Mary's, we arrived just after the library closed at 6 PM, so genealogy and mapping properties will have to wait for tomorrow.
27 Mar, I LOVE YOU SMOOCH! Loris, SC onward to Charlotte, SC to visit Mary and Ed. We again enjoyed quiet ride until we found more traffic closer to Charlotte, NC. We were on US 701 north briefly to SC 9 west until detouring five miles west to a Ruby Tuesday on I-95 in Florence. After that welcome salad lunch, we endure a bit more traffic on US 52 past Darlington race track. Then traffic vanished on SC 34 to SC 151 north towards Lancaster, SC to US 521 north to SC 5 west through Rock Hill to SC 274 north to SC 49 east into Lake Wylie. Thus we avoided North Carolina so that Ron could avoid wearing a motorcycle helmet. (He contends that those things cause accidents due to limited sight, additional fatigue and heat.) It was great to see Ed and Mary in their new home, only five minutes away from their daughter Anna. We were fortunate that Anna was able to drop in to see us, as she is studying full time for an advanced degree.
26 Mar at Loris, SC: Today started with a bit of rain but dried out early enough that we enjoyed a fine 7,000 steps walking with Hans along the main drag of Loris. Hans enjoyed showing us the town and naming neighbors right, left and sideways. He is becoming quite the home town resident. We also kept eyes out for any loose change on the ground, especially around the car wash. Ron was delighted to find three dimes and a penny for his contribution to Hans' estate. Hans showed us the locations of most of the public restrooms that provide necessary relief for us older walkers. After lunch of oatmeal with berries for Cynthia and Ron, Hans drove us to sightsee at Myrtle Beach. Hans first showed us the boardwalk, including the 187' high ferris wheel. Then we wandered extensively through the Gay Dolphin Gift Cove (click here) with its endless displays of kitsch. We drove by the baseball stadium, the high school, and Broadway at the Beach (click here), including its famous upside down museum, on our way to the Tanger Outlets. (Did you know that there are 42 Tanger Outlets?) Myrtle Beach is much larger than I had realized. We all enjoyed becoming fabulously full at Ruby Tuesdays and are now sitting comatose before bedtime.
25 Mar: We rode from Columbia, SC to Loris, SC to visit Hans and Audrey via I-26 southeast to I-77 north to SC 768 east to US 378 east through Mulberry and bypassed Conway via SC 5/26/24 to US 701 north through Loris to Russ Rd. It was a lovely quiet ride through South Carolina in early spring. It is a bummer that Audrey is not home. But we will enjoy Hans and their lovely home. Hans enjoyed showing us around his 4 acres with all of his horticultural projects sprouting. He plants fruits and veggies amongst his flower beds.
24 Mar: Columbia, SC until the morrow. Ron joined our friends at Lizards Thicket for fish and grits, then he returned to our hotel for a second breakfast and to walk a few miles. Ron spent the remainder of the day processing financial reports, then taking the records to Greg’s to gather dust, along with the rest of his stuff. Our wonderful friends once again gathered at Zorba’s for dinner at 6:00 PM. We were an hour late because of a side trip to Urgent Care. All is well. The group stopped eating at the local Ruby T’s because of a poor manager, so it’s off the list for group gathering. We are still full from Friday night. A hugely hilarious side Note: At Urgent Care, Cynthia got a shot and had to wait 20 minutes to be sure she wouldn’t have an allergic reaction. The nurse asked if she wanted her husband to come back to sit with her. Yes! She did! What was his name? Cynthia said, “Smooch!” So the nurse called out “Smooch” ... tooooo Funny.
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| On lovely yard among many this lovely spring moring. |
22 Mar: We didn’t get enough sleep, but we arose, did our stretches, got oatmealed, and walked 4 miles with Dick. Cynthia went back to sleep for an afternoon nap! Ron spent two hours opening his mail! The Columbia gang joined us at Zorba’s for dinner. Mary was committed to baking a very special wedding cake, so she could not join us, but sent a humongous carrot cake to lighten our disappointment. Ron and Cynthia, being hungover from eating sugar, walked the parking lot for ten minutes after dinner to encourage a drop in blood sugar.
21 Mar: Cynthia’s flight to Columbia, SC arrived at 9 PM! YAY! She was expecting Ron to arrive on the hotel shuttle, but instead, he was on the bike with her heated gear. The ride to the hotel was lit by a gorgeous super moon. She has been wildly busy in Texas, getting one of our storage units cleared out by gifting to children and grandchildren and getting taxes done. We are one happy Smooch family to be together.
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| Cynthia loves this picture of bluebonnets |
Cynthia had an early AM 2.5 hour drive in rush hour to the Houston medical center. All tests are good. The ride home was only 1.5 hours. Ron, is in S.C., helping Donna and Greg take used TVs and appliances to recycle, then aluminum cans to sell to a metals recycler.
19 Mar: Columbia, SC: It was another chilly night which encouraged Ron so that he slept well. At 6:30 he came inside for oatmeal. 7:30 Dick & Clark joined him for the daily walk around the neighborhood. Ron called Florida DMV and was disappointed to learn that they will not change or remove a mailing address over the phone. Now he is back to work on the Steelman package.
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| Thank you cousin Angi |
17 Mar, Sunday: Top of the Mornin’ to our Irish Friends! Love to my Irish Smooch! On this St. Patrick’s Day, the sweet sights and sounds of spring have arrived in Southeast Texas. Birds are singing like crazy; azaleas are lush and wild with color; boulevards are lined with blossoming pear trees; and tulips, crocus and forsythias put forth the clarion call, “The earth is alive!” In Columbia, SC, it was cold overnight (37 degrees); Ron was chilly at 3:30 AM and came inside to finish the night at 5 AM. After breakfast at Lizard's Thicket with Dick and Clark only, Ron and Dick walked the neighborhood for four miles. Here too, the red buds are gorgeous, and pears, etc are blooming in profusion.
16 Mar: Ron awakened early this morning after another long, uninterrupted nights sleep, and left this message on the blog, "Love you my little Smooch." Dick and Clark don't walk on weekends, so Ron walked the "Mungo Trail," the repurposed golf course cart path. He is realizing that his blog posts will be posted behind Cynthia's unless he gets in gear earlier in the day most days. Ron is already enjoying his frozen mango & pineapple again and anticipating a nice little sugar boost soon. Last nights short sleep caused Ron to become lethargic and eat much more often than usual. Eventually he took another couple of long walks during the day. Cynthia and son Jon celebrated Jon’s recovery from a week long respiratory infection with dinner at Cedar Lodge (as pictured above - Jon is great at selfies.)
15 Mar: Cynthia took Easter gifts to Fyn and Zoe. Later she and Julie planned a major remodeling project on Julie’s house. Is there anything more fun than tearing out walls? Ron is apparently not the only one in need of continual adult supervision. Today Ron polished off the pineapple. The spinach is still untouched in the refrigerator. He and Donna got in gear "early" and drove the SUV full of electronics junk 20 miles to the state-mandated electronics recycling center. On the return trip they stopped at Lowes for pretzels and salad then at WallyWorld to replenish frozen fruits & berries. Friday evening tradition is Columbia is dinner out. This time Mary, Donna, Ron, Clark, Dick, and Greg gathered at Zorba's for salmon, baked potatoes, etc. Conversation at these dinners isn't quite the same when Liz is out of town. Ron stayed up til nearly midnight walking and talking on the cell phone after working too long on the Steelman package.
14 Mar: Meantime, in Texas, Cynthia had an appointment with Bambi, dinner with Rachel, and an overnight with daughter Julie. Grandson Eric came home to celebrate his birthday turning into a very late night. Ron’s renewed drivers license was not delivered to the house but was returned to the DMV, because it was sent to the closed PO Box instead. For Ron and Donna, the big accomplishment of the day was loading defunct electronics into the SUV, starting with the old, heavy, heavy, heavy TV and continuing with a similarly old, large and heavy computer monitor, two computer towers, a laser printer, dot-matrix printer, another printer, a laptop, a scanner, and a box of assorted smaller things. Ron was careful while lifting the heavy TV and monitor; they were "trucked" out to the car and lifted from the hand truck. Today Ron polished off the mango.
13 Mar: After two foggy, rainy days in Houston town, Cynthia had hopes for sunny skies, but the sun did not appear; instead, it rained heavily all the day long. Some businesses are without internet, Jon’s is down too. Sasha, Cynthia’s hairdresser, missed seeing Ron, and he asked, "Where's The Governor?" He wished him a quick ‘Get Well.’ Cynthia misses Ron, too. After running errands, she is hibernating in the bedroom because son Jon is sick with a bug that required antibiotics. Ron has already fallen back into old habits: walking with Dick & Clark, working on the SCS Steelman package, keeping Greg & Donna company sitting in front of the boobtoob ... all the while ignoring the blog. He has found his earphones and is happily listening to 57ChevyRadio.com again. Similarly happily snacking on frozen mango & frozen pineapple.
12 Mar: Ron awakened at 7:01 AM after a great nights sleep under the stars in Greg & Donna's back yard. Unfortunately his cold has rendered his voice too croaky to understand. Fortunately the other symptoms seem to have moderated already, perhaps from the steady diet of porridge that he is consuming now; no doubt the frozen pineapple and mango are assisting. Dick and Clark and Ron walked around the neighborhood for 1.5 hours this morning and returned just in time for Ron's 9AM pill alarm and the call from his weefee to remind him to take his pills. He has been steadily working on the next Swedish Colonial Package about the Steelman family of New Jersey. As he discovered the need for a bit of internet research, he discovered a need to update the blog in February with routes and more descriptive commentary. (Thank you Smooch, from your beloved wee-fee)
11 Mar: Ron awakened at 3 AM and was delighted to realize that he could safely fall back asleep and still get Cynthia to the plane on time. Unfortunately he did NOT fall back to sleep, so he is now overtired. On the good side, we did get Cynthia to the plane on time, and she has already called from Houston with delight, anticipating an egg white veggie omelet from the 105 Cafe. Ron did manage to drag himself through packing and rode over to Greg and Donna's house where he will be for the next 10 days without adult supervision. Greg & Donna abandoned Ron to his own devices whilst they traipsed off to visit a doctor. Ron did send off a couple of e-mails before riding over to Wally World for foodstuffs. 'Lizabeth dropped in to see if Ron wanted to borrow a tent, as yet unfound. He declined the offer and might regret that as it just started sprinkling. Since the TV is showing NCIS as usual, Ron is ready to begin work on another family package for the Swedish Colonial Society. (An aside to mee beloved: I love you. SmoochSmooch.)
10 Mar, Sunday, Columbia, SC: We sprang ahead very slowly this AM, relishing these mornings when we can rise leisurely. Noise in the hotel breakfast room was deafening even to the deaf among us. A mid morning nap was a brilliant idea, too. Severe thunderstorms were anticipated this afternoon, but they did not materialize. At four PM our SC friends are meeting us for dinner ... a fine, fun time was had by all the survivors: Greg & Donna, Tom & Cheryl, Clark & Liz, Dick and Mary.
9 Mar: The ride from Lithonia, Georgia to Columbia, South Carolina on I-26 was uneventful but rather boring, with a luncheon stop at Ruby Tuesday's in Augusta, GA. For some peculiar reason, the southern Hilton properties and the Ruby Tuesday restaurants are less desirable than elsewhere. The hotel rooms are clean enough, but they seem very run down; so, too, the restaurants. We are simply grateful to find restaurants that have fresh garden vegetables and a baked sweet potato. We may have been the only Caucasians in the hotel; evidently their clientele are asked to sign an agreement verifying a one strike and you are out for making excessive noise after ten PM. The first order of business upon our arrival in SC was a visit with Ron's MIT freshman roommate, Greg and his lovely bride, Donna. We are ensconced at a Hampton Inn near the airport for Cynthia's flight early Monday morning to Houston.
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| Ron Beatty and cousin Don |
7 Mar: Ron and Angi are making progress, but a file or two is missing. After another trip to downtown Atlanta, Ron discovered one missing file on the old computer is corrupted; the other one is nowhere to be found. Cynthia walked the mall trying to reach 10,000 steps, but shopping superseded steps. We again enjoyed a delicious baked sweet potato at Jason’s Deli. Packing begins for a late morning’s visit to see Bankston cousin Don in Lithonia, Georgia. Saturday the temperature is forecast to be warm enough to enjoy our ride to Columbia, South Carolina.
6 Mar: Global freezing causes our brains to freeze, and we forgot to blog.
5 Mar, Atlanta, GA: 35 degrees this morning! Ron and cousin Angi were working in her husband Michael’s office on Dorothy’s thirty or forty year old computers downloading old files. They dropped Cynthia off at the Lenox Mall to get 10,000 steps. About three hours later, when she hadn't heard her cell phone ring, Ron and Angi restored to cruising the mall and succeeded in finding little golden haired Cynthia on their first go-round. The mall security kept asking Cynthia if she needed help. Angi shepherded us to Jason's Deli for a enjoyable lunch.
4 Mar: We are in Atlanta, GA enjoying cousin Angi and her husband Michael. They invited us to stay in their lovely guest house. Ron spent the evening sorting papers at Angi’s; Cynthia planned to walk a lot, but the bitter cold front kept her inside. She tried to exercise by marching in place. That became quickly tedious. After a month of serious heavy exercise, this inactivity is very hard on our bodies. Angi prepared a lovely dinner of roast chicken and rice. It really was delicious.
3 Mar, Sunday: In Marietta, Georgia the March lion is roaring. Ron and Cynthia rode on Alt. US 27 north from Columbus to Newnan, GA, but his notes didn't mention leaving town on US 29, so we rode 50 miles on I-75 to I-285 to Marietta, GA, where we are ensconced warm and feeling fat/full at a Ruby Tuesday, watching God blessing the earth with abundant rainfall at one PM. The weather service forecasts that the rain will end at five PM. (It ended at four PM.) Our hosts have returned from central Florida. We will be staying with DeHaven cousins in their Atlanta guest house for three days while Ron helps Angi start preparing deceased cousin Dorothy’s book for publication.
2 Mar: From Quincy, FL we headed north on FL highway 267 which turns into GA 302, turned onto GA 97 N which eventually merges into US 27. In Pensacola, FL the redbuds and pear trees are beginning to bloom and that continued along US 27 as it winds east, west and north through Georgia. A light rain fell sporadically as we rode. We continued to be surprised at the wide swath of damage by last October's hurricane all the way to Columbus, Georgia, where we found lodging and food! Entire forests of trees were toppled over or snapped off at a height of twenty or thirty feet.
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| 10 Years Ago On the CO River in the Grand Canyon |
1 Mar: We left Pensacola, Florida after shipping a box on to Philadelphia and after stopping at Jason's Deli for lunch. Cynthia was surprised and very disappointed to lose her favorite sunglasses there. Consequently it was and early noon hour before we headed south on I-110 towards Panama City and Mexico Beach to see for ourselves what hurricane Michael did to the area last October 10. Unfortunately Ron hadn't checked the route closely, so we rode east on the crowded highway FL 98 instead of the much more scenic highway FL 399 that runs among the dunes on the beach. One we arrived in Panama City we saw Devastation !! We were surprised that the severe damage started in Panama City, and it looked like a war zone. By the time we reached Mexico Beach we were pleasantly surprised to see so many Gulf views, apparently because entire houses are gone, either washed away entirely or the debris has been cleared. Sharon's Cafe and Toucan's Restaurant are empty lots. The El Governor Hotel is fenced in for construction; apparently they plan to remodel. One business is open... an oyster restaurant. We were surprised to see more houses standing than we expected, although they are all damaged. We were surprised and unprepared for the light rain that fell as we approached town and more as we left east on county road 386 (trying to skirt the apparent rain clouds north of us). That worked well for several miles, but then we rode through drenching rain approaching FL 71. We stopped there because Cynthia was very cold after her sweatshirt got wet in the drenching. She put on her heated gear, which helped, but Ron hadn't packed our rain gear where he could find it easily. We turned east at Wewahatchie on FL 20, then northeast on FL 12 towards I-10 to reach a Hampton Inn at Quincy, FL fo another unpleasant surprise ... it wasn't very clean. Because the hotel was not near restaurants, we cooked oatmeal in the microwave. The day was full of surprises. At least, the person who found Cynthia's sunglasses must have been happily surprised
