Early Departure for Home!

   I guess you all thought we fell off the face of the earth.  Well, our plans changed rather quickly and we have been rather busy ever since we got home!!  Here's what happened...
   Because of the call from Heather late Thursday night, March 24th that her contractions felt "different" we talked about what our options were for getting home quickly if Heather's situation suddenly changed.  There really was only one, and that was for me to fly home.  John checked some flights out of Sarasota, Jacksonville and Tampa to Harrisburg and they were all close to $400 and would take 3-4 hours.  And John would have to drive Harvey home by himself.  John was OK with all of it, but I didn't like the price of the flights or the thought of John driving back from Florida alone.  So, we decided to just pack up and leave Fri, March 25th.  We had everything ready to go by about 12:30.  We hooked up the Jeep on our site and pulled out.  John put air in the tires of the Jeep and Harvey and we were on the road by 1:15!  We were traveling about 45 minutes just past Exit 10 by Lazy Days when it started to drizzle.  Heather called with the report from her Dr. appt.  She was 4 cm dilated and 70% effaced!!  My first thought was that we might not make it home on time.  But after checking out some posts on line regarding being "effaced", I found out that lots of women are 4 cm dilated and 80% effaced and don't have the baby for another 2 weeks.  I felt relieved, but still glad we had decided to go home!!  It just wasn't worth the stress of waiting for that call and rushing home!  Heather was relieved also and thankful that we were on our way.  The sky ahead started to look awful...we could see a nasty front rolling in real fast.

Here it comes!

 

John is "pursed" and ready for the storm!

 

It just keeps getting worse and worse...

 

...darker and darker.

 

We are driving right into it!

  It wasn't long before it started pouring and blowing.  We were just outside of Orlando when it started and it took us an hour to get to the other side of the city on Rte 4!!

It's here...with a vengeance!

  I was able to talk with Michele, TW and Sue Shaub during that time.  It never stopped raining until about 5:00.  We stopped at a Flying J off Exit 305 for gas and to get a sub at Subway to share for supper.   We also got 2 Crispy Crème donuts for the morning.

Look what came with us from Palmetto, FL!!

Sorry this is so blurry.  I took it with my left hand.
Just after I took this picture the froggie jumped
on my shoulder and crawled down my back.  I wasn't
sure where it went after that!!

  We were back on the road at 6:30.  We hit a traffic back-up from 7:15 to 7:45 just outside of Jacksonville because of an accident.  We crossed into Georgia at 8:15.  I called Joyce from church in response to an email I had gotten from her a few days ago.  We talked for almost an hour!!   At 10:00 we crossed into South Carolina.  We originally were going to stop for the night about 30 miles into SC, but John was feeling pretty good so he decided to push on.  He figured the farther we went tonight the less time it would take to get home tomorrow!  We finally got off the highway at Exit 164 in Florence at 12:15.  We got gas at a TA and then drove just down the road to a Cracker Barrel to spend the night in their parking lot.  It was a long day on the road!!!  John did a great job!  Neither one of us slept very well, so it was a pretty short night. 

We got up at 6:15, had a good breakfast at Cracker Barrel and hit the road at 7:30.  Bonnie called to see how far we had gotten.  By 8:00 we were crossing into North Carolina.  At 10:30 we crossed into Virginia.  We stopped at a Pilot off Exit 58 at 11:30 to potty, get gas and have lunch, but we there was no place to park an RV that was towing a vehicle...no pull-thrus :(.  So back on the road at 12:00 and off at Exit 104 at 12:45 for Mickey D's.  Haven't eaten there for a long time!

Yea...Richmond...We're getting closer and closer to home!

   At 1:20 we were back on I-95 nearing Washington DC.  It took us 2 hrs to go from exit 104 to 170...UGH!!!  We considered taking a different route thru DC, but it was 60 miles longer and John just couldn't face an extra 60 miles!  We finally crossed into Maryland at 3:30 and were on the home stretch, I-83 at 4:45.  We crossed into PA at 5:05, got on Rte 30 at 5:30 and were home at 6:00. WHEW, what a day!

Hooray...Home Sweet Home!!!!

  We pulled up across the street from the house, unloaded the fridge and all the perishables, put in a load of wash,  and decided the rest could wait until tomorrow.  John parked Harvey in the overflow parking lot at the end of our road.  We were both hungry, so at 8:00 we decided to go to one of our favorite restaurants in the area...Sal's Pizza in Etown.  Needless to say, I DROVE!!  John went back up to Harvey when we got home to wipe out the water in the fridge from defrosting it.  I continued putting some things away.  We went to bed when he got back.  It felt so good to sleep in our king sized bed. (we have a queen in Harvey). 

We didn't even get up for Church on Easter morning...we were just too drained.  We got busy unloading Harvey, putting things away, and doing more laundry.  We were pretty much done by 2:00 (except for the laundry).  My hips and foot may never be the same :(  I called Mom to let her know we had gotten home safely.  Alexandra came over as soon as she heard we were home.  She visited for a while and then went home to shower and change clothes and then joined us again for supper.  Heather and Cooper came over, too, after visiting with Mom and Dad at Masonic.  Our Easter supper was take out Chinese from Jade Garden.  It was delicious!  We all played a short game of Up and Down the River which John won handily.  Everyone left about 10:00.  John went to bed, but I stayed up to finish some laundry and go thru mail.  I finally turned in about 12:30.

Monday morning I went grocery shopping.  John, bless his heart, did most of the cleaning while I was gone.  Things sure do get dusty in 3 months!!  While going thru last weeks Merchandiser I saw that the Donegal HS FBLA group was having a craft show at the HS this Saturday.  I sent an email to ask if there was still room, and there was.  I called Bonnie to see if she wanted to participate also, but it didn't work for her.  But after thinking about the situation with Heather, I could just imagine setting up Friday night and then getting "the call" and not being able to go Saturday.  Besides, we have to take Harvey to Camping world in Hanover Friday or Saturday to have some work done.  So. I decided not to do the show.  TW came over at 6:30 with the mail and to have supper with us.  Arlena and Bennett are in Wisconsin with her parents until Saturday.  I watched The Voice and we both went to bed fairly early.

Tuesday I went out to visit with Mom and Dad in the morning while John finished up some things in Harvey.  Then I went to York to take Heather to her "high risk" Dr appt.  No exam, just stress test US and heart monitoring.  Everything looks great!  John got a haircut and took the Jeep for a tire rotation.  I brought Cooper home to spend the night with us, so Heather could get some rest and some work done.  John went to Costco and then to the Rockvale Outlet Mall to get some new sneakers at the New Balance Outlet store.  We had supper, I watched The Voice and played "cars and trucks" with Cooper while John watched a Phillies spring training game.  Cooper was in bed by 9:30 and John and I went in shortly after. 

It's now Wed, March 30.  I'm pretty sure you don't need our play by play mundane daily activities now that we're home.  thanks to all of you who followed our blog while we were gone.  There's no baby yet, but I will make the announcement and post some pictures on here.  So you can check every now and then the next 2 wks.  Bye for now. 

Our Last Special Trip to Manasota Beach

   We woke up at about 7:30.  Shortly there after John had egg sandwiches ready for us for breakfast.  We got into our bathing suits and left for Manasota Beach at 8:50.  Rhonda was planning on meeting us there at 10:00, but she called to let us know she would be late because of an accident on I-75.  We got there at 9:30, and, of course, I got busy right away looking for teeth.  Rhonda arrived at about 10:45 and she joined me.


What form, what style, what grace for a novice!

Hey, give that back.  I found it first!

 



  Even though we found quite a few teeth it wasn't easy.  We had to work a lot harder than usual!

Found one!  The bag I got when I joined AARP
comes in real handy!!

I got pretty far in the water today.  Truth be told...I had to "pee".

  John had the biggest pay-off finding the BIG one!

Wow. did John hit pay dirt or what!?!  And
he found it just laying among some shells
away from the surf!

John didn't find as many as I did, but his were bigger. 

I actually did better than I thought!

   It really was a lovely day for the beach...warm, but not stifling or humid.

It was pretty full today...even at 9:30!

  It was so nice to spend the day with Rhonda, too.  She is such a good friend and a wonderful person!

My buddy, Rhonda.  I miss the good times we
used to have in York!!

  She left at 3:30 and we said our goodbyes because we won't get to see each other again before we leave for home.  John and I left at 5:30.  I called Bonnie after we got on the road and they had just gotten home about 10 minutes before I called.  They drove 620 miles today.  Now, that's a long day of driving!!  When we got back we showered and John grilled chicken.  It was very good!  Dustin let us know that his flight went well and he was home.  He had been in Orlando for work since Sunday.  We were hoping that maybe we could get together while he was in Florida, but it just didn't work out.  Then we thought we'd try playing "Up and Down the River" with just the 2 of us.  I just barely won, but it was pretty dumb.  Don't think we'll try that again!!  I watched Am Idol while John read.  Heather called at 10:20 to let me know that she is having some painful contractions.  There's no regularity to them just constant.  She has a dr. appt tomorrow morning, so she will keep me posted.  John went to bed at 10:30 and I joined him at 11:30.  If the weather cooperates we plan on going to Clearwater tomorrow night to see a Phillies spring training game.  We might check out Tarpon Springs also.

A "Hang Around the CG" Day

   John had a restless night for some reason.  We got up at 7:30 because of the guy coming from Safelite to fix the windshield.  He was to be here between 9:00 and 12:00.  We had breakfast and then got text that he would arrive about 9:45...and he did!  He was all finished by 10:15 and we can hardly see the crack.  It's amazing how they do that!  Because my hips were hurting me, we decided to just go down to the pool instead of going to the beach.  It really helps me when I do my exercises in the pool.  John headed down to the pool while I put the pictures on yesterday's blog.  It took a lot longer than it should have because the computer kept acting up.  I finally joined him about 11:30.  Boy, was that sun ever hot!  We spent some time in the pool and then got out and did some reading.  We came back to Harvey at 1:30 for lunch.

We stopped to "talk" with this gecko.

  John needed a nap and he asked if I wanted to go shopping.  I want to find some "beachy" type jewelry that I can use to make my magnetic pins and I figure they would be easier to find in Florida than at home.  So, at 2:45 I took Jeepie on a road trip to the Desoto Mall in Bradenton.  It only took about 20 minutes straight out Rte 41 South.  It ended up being a pretty crappy mall with at least 1/3 of the stores closed or empty.  It was anchored by Sears and JCPenney.  I did find some cute inexpensive butterfly earrings for my pins, but it was quite disappointing!  I got back about 5:30 and John had cleaned all the windows inside and outside of Harvey!  He also put Rain-X on the windshield.  Thanks, Honey!!  Then he showered and we headed out to guess where...

No...not here silly...but THERE...

 

 

 

 

 

A beautiful "Sonnyset" on the way back to the CG!

 

Oh, it was soooo good!!  I talked to Bonnie on the way home.  They made it to Santee, GA, 98 miles into the state, and decided to stop for the night at a Comfort Inn.  They drove over 600 miles today having to drive 100 miles south from their CG to Lazy Days to leave Waldo, then back north again. 

Back to Manasota Beach

   It was quite cool when we got up this morning...42 degrees.  John heated up some leftover breakfast potatoes and eggs and then we got ready to head back to Manasota Beach.  By the time we left the temp was about 60.  We stopped at the post office and then hit the highway.  I called Dad to see how he was doing, and I'm happy to report that he sounded great! We got to the beach about 11:00 and the temp was 65 and the wind was blowing, but the sun was shining brightly.  I had to put on my sweatshirt to look for teeth, but after an hour or so I didn't need it anymore.

It was a grand day to be at the beach...we had a "green" flag today!

Not too many people on this side yet.

But this side was much more full!




I'm not the only one who spends a lot of time
in this position :)

there were lots of shark teeth in those piles of shells!

  John went walking.  He was going a long time!  He walked over 16,000 steps...no wonder he was gone for so long!!  Obviously, his hip is much better. 

He's headed down the beach...

...getting closer to the bend...

...around the bend.

A sole blue heron enjoying the beach, too.

I think these are just some rock formations
that became uncovered.

Sailboats are so majestic, aren't they?!?

Now, that's a good size boat!!

Shells were washing up like this all day!

Not sure if this is the same heron, but he must
have gotten hot...he's in the water now.

The beach was a treasure trove for teeth today.  We both found a lot of big ones, especially early in the day.  I finally sat down at 2:00 and returned a call to Michele.  She wanted to talk about plans for Todd's (Alexandra's boyfriend) graduation from boot camp at Lackland AF Base in San Antonio, TX the beginning of July.  John went for another walk and got back to the hunt.

Gotta find just 1 more nice one before we leave!

  By the end of the day we had over 400 sharks teeth!!

There is all out treasures.  You can see by the penny
how big some of them are.  I had a ball!!

  It was so fun, but my hips are paying the price!  We left the beach about 5:00 and stopped at Walmart before heading home.  I returned a call to Bonnie.  She and Ken are leaving their CG early tomorrow morning and driving to Lazy Days to leave Waldo behind for some work that needs done.  They hope to leave for home by 10:00 or so.  Just doesn't seem possible that the "snowbird" months have gone by so quickly.  Heck...we'll be leaving for home in 10 days unless Heather's baby decides to come sooner!  Then I returned a call to Mom and we talked mostly about the motorized chair that Dad is getting thru Medicaid.  He got a letter saying that he has been approved and should have it in 15 days.  Previously he was told he wouldn't have it until December.  And since the one he has been using at Masonic "konked out", we all hope Medicaid will come thru as stated in the letter!!  We got back to Harvey at 6:45, took showers, and made steak sandwiches with the leftover skirt steak from 2 nights ago.  Gosh, they were good!!  Then it was time for The Voice.  John read his book.  We had some fresh fruit and pound cake, watched a bit more TV and then went to bed about 10:30. 

A VERY Cool, Lazy Day!

John was up about 7:30 and I woke up about 8:30, but I didn't get my lazy bones out of be until 10:00!  It was only 47 degrees outside, so I felt no need to get out of my warm bed.  And, besides that, it was kind of fun to watch old westerns in bed.  I forgot to mention in yesterday's blog that around 9:00 last night we heard a loud noise outside Harvey that sounded like something broke or cracked.  It was dark, so we didn't check it out.  Well, this morning when I woke up I was thinking about the incident.  I told John that I hoped the tiny nick we had on the windshield from a previous stone hit on the highway didn't suddenly crack.  John walked the trash down this morning and when he got back he said that, unfortunately, I was kind of right.  There was a new "ding" smack dab in the top middle of the windshield about the size of a dime.  It actually looks like a shot from a pellet gun! (but we can't be sure)  He reported it to the office and they said they recently did have an incident of a gun shot in the CG from across the lake that's behind the houses across from us.  We called our insurance company and SafeLight will be here Wed morning to fix it.  It all kind of gives us the creeps, but I guess people wouldn't live here if it wasn't safe.  WE are hoping, though that the guy from SafeLight might be able to identify the mark, just so we know. I had breakfast and then went to the Post Office to mail some Easter packages to the grandkids.  John did a load of wash while I was gone.  Then I joined him at the laundry to help finish up and to play shuffleboard.  Even though the sun was shining brightly, it was still chilly...we needed sweatshirts.  The courts are right beside the laundry.  I beat him 82-32...he couldn't seem to escape the -10 space!  We had some leftovers for lunch and then decided to go down to the pool to read and bask in the sun. John put his suit on, but I didn't.  It was nice and warm while the sun was out, but chilly when it went in.  We only lasted about an hour.  It was 5:30 by now and John was ready for some supper. (I wasn't because I had eaten lunch later then him)  I did cut up some fresh fruit and I had that.  John did some more reading and I watched TV just waiting for The Voice.  I missed last weeks shows, so I was excited to see it this week.  John went to bed at 10:00 and I joined him about 11:15.  It's supposed to be warmer tomorrow, so, hopefully, we'll get to the beach again tomorrow.  We were going to go to a Phillies spring training game, but it is a split team, there are no good seats left, and the tix are expensive!

Back to Manasota Beach for my Shark Tooth Fix!

   I woke up this morning at 8:15 to the smell of potatoes and bacon.  My honey had breakfast almost ready for us.  I'm so lucky!!  We decided to take a chance and head to Manasota Beach even though the forecast was a bit "iffy".  We left at 10:30 and arrived at about 11:20 without a hitch!  We were surprised to see the parking lot only half full.  I guess the forecast kept people away.  The sky cleared and all was well.  I started on my teeth hunt and John went walking.    It turned out to be a beautiful day at the beach!  I finally sat down at about 2:30 and the clouds starting rolling in.  I had a snack and John went for another walk.  I'm happy to report that his hip isn't bothering him at all!  I went back out to search for more teeth, but didn't have much luck like earlier in the day, so I sat back down and waited for John to return.  We left at 4:30 and stopped at Walmart for a couple of things.  We got home about 6:30, took showers, and then John grilled steaks.  They were yummy!!  I worked on the blog while John read and we went to bed about 10:00. 

There weren't a lot of people there today,
but the water was warm and beautiful!

 

 

John found the teeth on the top and I found
the ones on the bottom...about 200 all together.
The white one in the upper left corner is a
one of my favorite "baby ears".  I was
really surprised to find it here!!  There's
also a piece of sea glass.  I found some
shell pieces for you, too, Sis.

Lazy, Rainy Day at the CG

   John had a restless night, getting up for a while at 2:00.  He came back to bed and we slept in until 8:15.  We had breakfast and then John decided to wash Harvey and the Jeep before the predicted rain got started.  I made macaroni salad while he was outside.  Well, his timing was perfect, because just as he was coming in, there was a clap of thunder and it started to rain.  We watched some TV while I worked on the blog.  We had some lunch and then Johns took a nap while I finished the blog.  We he got up he asked what we wanted to do the rest of the day.  It was still raining, so we decided to go the movies to see "London is Falling".  We left for Bradenton at 4:30.  I talked with Michele right after we got to the theater.  She said they are expecting snow tonight into tomorrow.  The movie was pretty good...full of action, but hard to watch a few times because of the extreme violence.  From there we went to Verona's Pizza  for subs.  They were very good.  We got home about 8:45...it had finally stopped raining.  I worked on today's blog while John read.  We're both pretty tired.  Don't think we'll be up too late tonight.  We're hoping to get to Manasota Beach tomorrow for my shark teeth "fix", but the weather looks a little iffy.  BTW...Happy World Frog Day!!

Awesome Day at MacDill AF Base!

   We were planning on visiting MacDill AF Base on Saturday.  But when John heard on the radio that the Thunderbird air show was scheduled for that day, he didn't want to be anywhere near there.  They expect 250,000 people!!  He knew that the Thunderbirds practice the day before.  That is today...so we are going!!  We got up about 8:30, had breakfast, cleaned up and headed for Tampa at 10:30.  It was a bit cloudy, but warm, so we took the top off the Jeep. 

Approaching the Tampa Bay Bridge.  This was the one
that was close a few days ago because of "sea fog".

We're crossing it!

On the other side approaching Clearwater/Tampa area

What do you think...can we take him?!?!?

That's the Tamps Bay Rays baseball
stadium in the background.  Aren't the
palm trees gorgeous!!

 

 

We arrived at 11:30 and the base was really buzzing!  Apparently a lot of people with military ID's were doing the same thing that we were doing!!  We went to the PX first to pick up a few things, had some lunch, and then went out to the hangar/air strip area.  There were lots of planes on display.

These are old planes.

This is a close up of the picture on the plane above.

These are the newest "stealth bombers"

I believe the rest of the aircraft are current.

A close up of the picture on the plane above.

This carrier was HUGE!  Look at the size of the jet engines. 
Compare it to the size of the guy in the red shirt.

The inside of the carrier.

The helicopters were very big, too.  A lot
different than the ones you see flying over your house! 

The wing spread on this plane was unbelievable.
There are even wheels on the end of each wing
because of the weight of the fuel!

We checked a lot of those out and took pictures and then positioned ourselves to watch the show.  We hadn't thought to bring chairs, but luckily, they had set up a bunch for tomorrow that we could use.  OH MY GOSH...the Thunderbirds were absolutely amazing!!

This is a stunt plane that practiced before the Thunderbirds.

No, the pic is not upside down...the plane is!!

The Thunderbirds all lined up and ready to go.

The precision of their maneuvers was incredible!

Straight up in the air!!

The one on the right came back around and
joined the other 4.

Don't you just love how they are flying in front of the sun!

Looks kind of like fireworks, doesn't it?

This was towards the end when the PA system played,
"God Bless America."  It was very emotional!!

    The show started at 2:30 and lasted until 4:00.   It was pretty hot and humid, but the cloud cover kept it from being stifling.  After the show John went to the commissary to get some groceries while I went back to the PX to get some military pins to make into magnetic pins for my craft business. Just before we were ready to leave at 5:00 I heard a bugle call over the PA system.  John stopped the car and just sat there.  I had no idea why, but he explained to me that the bugle represented the end of the day or more correctly...Retreat,  and it was followed by the National Anthem.  Everyone in ear shot is supposed to stop whatever they are doing in respect.  We are never too old to learn, are we?!?  

The Direct TV Blimp was hovering over Tampa on the way home.

We got back to Harvey about 6:00.  Heather called just as we pulled into our parking spot.  She had an appt. with her obstetrician today.  The baby is weighing about 6 lbs 10 oz and she is between 1 and 2 cm dilated.  Accd'g to the Dr., though, she could be dilated and still go full term.  She will just have to keep me posted.   Because it is supposed to rain tomorrow, John decided to go up on the roof and clean off all the pollen and dirt leftover from the Manatee CG.  He figured the rain would rinse all the remaining soap off.  Thanks for tackling that, honey...I know you don't particularly like it up there!!  After going outside and giving him moral support (and making sure he didn't slip and fall off the roof or ladder) I came in and made toasted ham and cheese sandwiches and bean soup for supper.  By this time it was 7:30.  John went thru the 350 pictures he took and then I went thru his and mine and got them ready for the blog.  Then we played a game of 5 Crowns.  John finally won...27-55.  Way to go, honey!  We watched a little TV and then went to bed.  We don't have plans yet for tomorrow because of the predicted rain.