New Bern, North Carolina

I had to add a couple of pictures of the pool and Bob at the resort in Myrtle Beach on our last day.




Now for the New Bern! We had a fun trip from Myrtle Beach to New Bern. I looked at the map and saw some lighthouses that we hadn’t been to before along the coast. We stopped at a visitor center and got some excellent instructions. She suggested that we go to the Fort Fisher Ferry and take it across to Wilmington. So we drove out to the Oak Island lighthouse at Southport. We were able to get right up next to it.



We could see the Bald Island Lighthouse in a distance but will have to come another time and take a boat trip across to get a better look. I also read about Prices Creek Light House that was just supposed to have some ruins left. We ate a delicious lunch of shrimp and scallops at a tiny restaurant and fish market and then went to the ferry.
The crossing took about 30 minutes and we were able to see the Prices Creek lighthouse right as we were leaving the dock.
We also saw what we thought was an oil unloading platform but were told later that it was for molasses. It was an easy drive trip for the day.

We spent the night in Jacksonville and went to the timeshare in New Bern on Sunday. We stayed in the same unit as last year. The kitchen had been redone which was great. Of course the unit is a pedestal style building and Bob had to carry all of our stuff up the stairs but we enjoy the area and timeshare. We had company on Tuesday. Michael and Denise are in North Carolina right now about an hour from us. They came to visit and we had a lovely afternoon of catching up. All of us are missing Chiang Mai. It was good to see them and see how Michael is recovering from his strokes. He is really doing well and they are waiting for decisions to be made. Over and over we see how gracious and loving our God is.

Another day we drove to Morehead City so we could eat at The Sanitary. It is still one of our favorite seafood places. Then we went on to Beaufort this time and explored the downtown of this little seaside town.



We were even able to see across to the island and saw two of the wild ponies. We took another ferry across the Neuse River inlet from Cherry Branch to Minnesott Beach and then drove back to the timeshare a different way. This is me exhausted after walking all over Beaufort.
We stopped and bought freshly picked strawberries at a roadside stand. Oh, they were delicious.

This is a view from our patio.

I was also able to get a picture of the turtle along the edge of the pond. Hope it can be seen on the blog.
We had rain a couple of days but the area is really in need of it. It also began to get quite hot and humid. We stayed only 6 nights in New Bern and then on Saturday we drove to Boone, NC. We went through Raleigh, Durham, Greensboro and Winston-Salem. We crossed the eastern continental divide and drove into the mountains right near the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

Oooh, what a long 500 miles it was. But actually I did very well and we arrived at the timeshare with about 10 ¾ hours of travel time. We stayed at the Wyndham Ocean Blvd which is right on the beach in North Myrtle Beach. We were on the 11th floor in Tower 1. We had a two bedroom condo which we were glad of as they are rather small. We could see the ocean from our balcony.
It was cool and very windy most of the week. We took a couple of walks on the beach.

We worshipped two Sundays at First Baptist of North Myrtle Beach. It was different and nice to attend the same church two consecutive weeks.

We spent Monday going to 2 timeshare presentations. We did the Wyndham and then a Westgate one. We earned some dining out dollars and went to the Rioz Brazilian Steakhouse for an excellent and unusual dinner. They had a very large salad bar and then they served all of the meat from skewers which were brought to your table by servers whenever you turned your marker to green. There was beef, pork, chicken, lamb, sausage and pineapple and it was all delicious. They served special sides of mashed potatoes, cheese popovers, fried bananas and polenta sticks.

I did some scrapbooking and finished our Australia trip. We went to Socastee High School on Thursday night to see Beauty and the Beast. It was done very well and we enjoyed the opportunity to see young people using their talents. Of course if you saw the news we also had a forest fire (in the area). We noticed the smoke about 3 p.m. on Wednesday as we were walking on the beach. It was just rolling up into the air.
We drove through some heavy smoke as we went out to eat that night. There were about 20,000 acres burned and about 70 homes destroyed.
The fire stayed west of the inter-coastal waterway so did not really threaten the tourist area. There was just a lot of smoke in the air.

On Saturday we moved from the Wyndham to the Marriott Ocean Watch timeshare on the north end of Myrtle Beach. We have a beautiful view from the 10th floor and a very, very nice two bedroom condo. I did a little cooking and we have caught up on some computer work. We have been in the big hot tub a couple of times.
The weather has still been very sunny. It can be a little smoggy in the morning because the fire is contained but not out.

One of the resort activities was Iron Chef so we decided to participate in it. The secret ingredient was a bag of frozen Southern Style Biscuits. We had two hours to make something. I sent Bob to the store for apples and raisins and I made a type of caramel apple raisin nut filling.
Then I dipped the biscuits into butter and pressed them into the baking dish down into the filling.
It was interesting (we thought tasty) and we came in second. Actually it was just a fun thing to do.

We drove down to Murrell’s Inlet on Wednesday to check out a timeshare down there that we might want to stay in next year. There is a boat trip out to a lighthouse from Georgetown which is south of there. We thought it would be a nice place to stay. Since we are leaving for England the end of May we have been doing some research online. We have purchased a couple of maps and also a travel and sightseeing pass for London. We also went shopping at the Build-a-Bear and Akasha is now ready for football.


I am trying to do my exercises most of the days but my leg is really acting up. I have some what I call muscle spasms and cramps when I overdo. I can walk for a longer time now and am not reclining much during the day. God is good and we believe that it will fully be healed in a few months. Saturday we leave South Carolina and head north a short way to New Bern, North Carolina.

Crossville, Tennessee

We only had to drive a short distance from Deb’s so we didn’t leave until late afternoon and arrived at Hiawatha Manor which is near Crossville close to Lake Tansi. For some reason it didn’t remind me of Hiawatha at all. We had a nice two story townhouse. It was a cold and partly rainy week. We did spend some quality time with friends who live in Crossville whom we met 4 years ago, Tom & Hazel. It was fun to hear what they are doing, visit with them and see their house. They took us to the Homestead Museum. That area was the largest homesteading project in the U.S. in 1934. We also went to prayer meeting with them at First Baptist and to an area WMU meeting. Coleen continued her walking. The longest was about 30 minutes or so. We read and watched some of our History of England course. We went to the Cumberland County Playhouse on Friday afternoon to see On Golden Pond. We packed the van on Friday evening and left early on Saturday morning (6:30 a.m.) for South Carolina.

March to April Travel

We did spend a few nice days at the timeshare near Austin. When I went back to the physical therapist they really didn’t want me to be finished so we decided that we would do two more days of therapy during the week of March 15. I saw the surgeon on March 13 and was given clearance to do about anything except for impact sports, running or jumping. My disk is smaller than before and is not ready for any impact due to the trauma.

We went to a timeshare in east Texas near Hawkins on Friday night. We spent a great weekend and went to church in Longview. We got to see some old friends there. On Tuesday we drove back to Waco for therapy and stayed with Phil & Susan for 2 nights, leaving right after therapy on Thursday to go back to east Texas. I got a list of exercises to do on my own. These I have done but not every day. We left for Indiana on Saturday, March 21 but instead of two days we took three which was much better for me. Riding is still difficult and I really need to stop about every 1 ½ hours to stretch my back. The hardest part is I really need to recline, not walk but it is working.

We arrived in Warren at my dad’s late on Monday afternoon and spent until April 4th with him. We stopped by our storage in Anderson, visited with friends and family and met with the builder. Oh so many decisions to make. We picked the outside view and then worked on the changes we wanted inside. I was able to do some walking on many days and also tried to work on my exercises. We went to see Tommy Tune at the Honeywell Center in Wabash and listened to a couple sing show tunes in the chapel at Heritage Pointe. Bob was able to get a spot removed from his head at a dermatologist. We went to a fish fry, to Nick’s for tenderloins and on the last day to a pancake breakfast. In between I rested and sorted through paperwork.

We drove from Warren to Nashville, TN on April 4 and spent a very busy week there. Right now Deb is still job hunting so we spent each day with her. She sorted through her closets and I even got some new clothes. Deb & I also spent about 3 days doing some scrapbooking. We surprised her with a finished scrapbook for our 2006 Australia trip for her birthday.

RECOVERY

Well, I sure didn’t post more in a couple of weeks like I thought I would. I have been resting, recovering, resting, doing physical therapy and resting. I have learned a tremendous amount about my muscles and how to use them, including how to strengthen the ones that protect my back. This recovery part is a slow process and can be frustrating for me. At first I was afraid to move because the surgeon had given so many don’ts that I really didn’t know what the dos were. I have been doing therapy three times each week since February 11 and am getting much stronger. I certainly am not going to run any races for a while. My stamina is very low but I am working on that. I have been able to walk up to about ½ mile at one time but that is all and my speed is not very quick. Sitting for long periods is very difficult for me to do. But each day is a little better and I praise God for that.

We have worked on some scrapbooks, done some reading and spent time with Phil, Susan and James. Bob has cared for me and helped whenever needed. We spent two nights in Grand Prairie at the beginning of March for our annual physicals and of course found that we absolutely must begin to eat a healthier diet. That being said we have been able to pack up from Phil’s and come to a timeshare at Lake Travis, right north of Austin.

We arrived on Friday, March 6. That put us a little closer to San Antonio so that Coleen’s brother Eric and his wife Martha were able to come and visit with us on Saturday. It was great to see them again and spend a little time together. We are only spending 5 nights here and will be back in Waco for 2 nights to hopefully finish physical therapy. We really don’t know for sure until Coleen sees the surgeon on Friday. Hopefully she knows enough about the exercises that she can continue to do them on her own.

January - What a Month!!!

January has indeed been quite a month. We returned from California on Saturday the 3rd and checked into the Wyndham timeshare in San Antonio, Texas. We spent two very nice days (Sunday & Monday) and then came the changes. Coleen awoke early on Tuesday with incredible pain down her left side. We packed a few items, drove to Phil’s in Waco and then on Wednesday drove to Grand Prairie to the doctor. The short story is she had back surgery for a herniated disk on January 19. We cancelled all of our plans for the rest of the month and also for February. We have been staying with our good friends, Jo & David. They have been so gracious to open their home and allow me time to rest before surgery and recover after.

We have been to the doctor today, February 6, to have the staples out. Now I will have four to six weeks of physical therapy. We are heading to Waco to stay with Phil and Susan and will do the PT there. I am to have 3 one hour sessions per week. The doctor said I should be doing well by then and be back to walking and hiking. I can tell you that it sounds great. I thank everyone for their prayers during this time. The Lord is teaching me patience and I praise Him for healing and recovery. I will be doing reading and maybe some scrapbooking. No lifting or twisting. Bob has been incredible and is such a help. Will post more in a couple of weeks.

A DREAM COME TRUE

We have talked about going to the Rose Parade for many, many years. It finally has happened. We flew to Los Angeles on Sunday, December 28 and stayed at a hotel in Van Nuys, California which is about 30 minutes from Pasadena. We went with the Elderhostel Program and are extremely glad we did. It was a most awesome and enjoyable experience. We had speakers and learning opportunities along with seeing the parade. This is such a popular Elderhostel program that it often is filled more than six months in advance. There were more than 200 at our hotel and about 50 more at another hotel. We were divided into groups. We had 45 in our “green” group. Most of our meals were at the hotel.

We listened to the 1988 Rose Queen on the first night. She explained the process of becoming the queen and what the responsibilities were after that. The first day we had a get acquainted session with our group and a video on band selection for the parade. Then in the afternoon we went to Bandfest and saw 8 bands perform their field shows.

There are three sections of Bandfest as there are 18 bands and two that perform at every show. I had forgotten how much I enjoyed watching the bands. It was too bad that our schedule was such that we could only attend one of the sessions. That evening though we were listened to three band members from the Alhambra Unified School District Band. They were excited and talked about the work they did to practice and be in the parade.

On Tuesday we went to help decorate a float. This was a truly unusual and utterly astounding experience. There are only 6 floats that are “self-built” and we worked on one of them. All of the other floats are made by professional float building companies. We worked on the La Canada Flintridge float. Our group glued flowers and cut roses. Bob & I glued the blue delphiniums onto the name “La Canada Flintridge” that was put along the bottom of each side of the float.

There were so many flowers and seeds.

We felt very possessive as “our” float came down the street and we found that it had won the animation award. What a memorable experience.

Tuesday evening we listened to one of the Rose Parade personnel tell about their responsibilities. It was amazing to find out that there is no monetary remuneration at the Parade. The awards are given but they are just an award, no money involved. That includes the bands, floats and horse units. It is just a high honor to be there.

Wednesday we listed to Dr. Tommy Cairns tell us how the floats are judged. It is his responsibility to teach the three judges what and how to do the judging. In the afternoon we had a bus tour of Los Angeles which was our least favorite activity. We ate lunch at the farmer’s market and even toured through the oldest house in LA. We had a very nice sit down dinner for New Year’s Eve and celebrated with the east coast. Then we retired early to bed as we had to leave the next morning for the parade at 6:15.

Thursday was parade day and it was awesome. We had great seats in the bleachers. We were about and hour from the parade start which is about half way of the entire route. What was the best was there were no commercials and we could hear all of the bands.

Friday was another early morning as we went to the Post-Parade Float Viewing. This was the time to take the close-up pictures and take pictures we did. Between the two of us we have over 1,000 photos of this trip. We were able to walk up next to each of the floats. It was quite foggy so the distance photos were not a much fun as the close-up. How interesting to see each of the tiny seeds and blossoms that cover the floats.

We also were allowed inside the barricades of the float that we worked on.

The program was then over and we returned to the hotel and then flew back to Texas the next day (January 3).