Our First Full Week in Pompano Beach

WOW!!  It's been quite a ride!!  Michele, Alexandra, Todd and I left on time on Thursday and arrived at Hialeah Hospital at 6:15am.

Michele doesn't seem too worried about her
surgery, does she?!?  She's dozing in the waiting area!

  By 6:45 Michele was headed back to the pre op area.  We wouldn't get to see her again until after her 4 hr almost full body lift surgery.  At 12 noon we got a call from the OR that they were just starting her breast surgery and it would be another 2 hrs!  We grabbed some lunch and then waited and waited and waited.

It was a long wait for all of us, especially Alex and Todd!

  At 3:00 we had the clerk call the OR and were told it would be ANOTHER hour.  At about 4:15...7 hrs. later...the doctor came out and said everything went fine and that all the surgery she had usually takes 7 hrs.  Apparently the sec'y misinformed Michele about the length of time.  We were so relieved!!  Alexandra went back to see her about a half hour later.  We knew she would be really out of it due to anesthesia and pain killers, so we decided to leave.  We were so tired!  John came over and Todd rode his skateboard 2 miles down the road to bring back some food from McDonalds for Alex and him.  Michele called later to ask if we could make arrangements to rent an SUV or minivan to bring her home in.  This started a "tragedy" of errors.  She had said something about being able to take the seats out.  I thought she requested that, so she could get into the back seat easier.  The next morning we picked up the minivan in Ft Lauderdale.  The seats did not come out of this one but we felt there was plenty of room after pulling up the front seats.  We were all at the hospital by 11:30.  Todd and Alex were hoping to have John take them sight-seeing or to the zoo while I stayed with Michele.  But she was doing very well and thought she might be leaving soon, so John didn't want to take the chance of leaving and then have to come right back..  They had taken her off of IV pain killers and removed the catheter, so all she had to do was make sure oral pain killers worked and she could "pee" before she could go home.  Then one of the nurses accidentally cut one of the tubes on her drains, so we had to wait for a doctor to fix that.  By that time she needed another pain pill and she had to wait an hour after that to leave.  We never left the hospital until almost 7:00!  When John pulled up in the minivan Michele asked about taking the seats out because she wanted to lay in the back because it was hard for her to sit up.  She ended up reclining in the front seat.  Todd and I drove the Jeep and went right to CVS to fill Michele's RX's.  Unbeknownst to Michele her insurance had expired!  While we were waiting I got a call from Alex saying they couldn't get into the condo because the bottom lock was locked (we didn't have a key for that one!)  Michele was in the lobby on a pillow on a sofa.  We ended up having to call a locksmith.  John and Todd took the rental car back and 2 hrs and $129.00 later, at about 11:00 pm, we finally got into the condo.  I felt terrible because I was the last one out the door in the morning, so I was the one who had accidentally locked the bottom lock from the inside.  Michele was quite a trooper!!  I got her settled in the recliner, John went back to Harvey and the rest of us went to bed.  I had to get up every 2 hrs. to get Michele's pain pills for her.  Luckily, I was able to go right back to sleep each time.  When I got up Saturday morning, I must admit, I was expecting the worst.  After watching how hard a time she had in the hospital I feared that I might not be able to handle it.  And on top of that, my sciatica has been giving me fits, so I was in my own pain.  But, through MANY peoples prayers and the grace of God, she was feeling much better and  I was able to do my job as nurse Cindy.  John gave the Jeep to the kids (he must have been half crazy because of loneliness) as a reward for the way they handled yesterday.  They were elated and had a great time at the zoo.  When they got back to the CG with the Jeep, John grilled hamburgers for them.  Michele had a pretty good day. 

 

No, she didn't have a sex change...those are her drains!

She's sore, but the pain pills are keeping the pain away for the most part.  Now, if only she could "pee"!  On Sunday the kids gave me a break and told John and I to go out for a while.  We had lunch at Lester's Diner, which was delicious, and then to Walmart to pick up a few things.  We didn't want to go too far in case we were needed.  On the way back we stopped at the Dandee Donut shop.  Oh, my, it's almost as good as Maple Donuts back home!

The food was delicious and the waitress was great!

Love that sign!

And, yes, we had dessert. John had
lemon/coconut cake...bottom right corner.  I
had lemon meringue pie...YUM!
 



No words necessary!!

 




  John told me that he is not enjoying the CG very much.  First of all, he is lonely without me there.  But what makes it even worse is Kylie isn't there to keep him company either.  He never realized how much inter-action he had with her! :(  Also, the CG is FULL of French Canadians.  They don't speak any English and don't even acknowledge a "hello".  Seems to me that would be universal in any language!  The neighborhood outside the CG is pretty rough, too.  When we got back to the condo Michele was standing in the bathtub with cold water around her ankles and Alex holding the female urinal in place...and WO-LA...she went.  Hey, whatever works!!  Wish we had pictures of some of the ways Alex and I tried to help Michele with all that...sometimes we were practically standing on our heads to help!!   Monday morning Michele realized she would run out of her pain meds, we called the office and it looked like we would have to drive to Miami to get s script.  But the doctor kindly volunteered to meet us at a McDonalds in Hollywood at 12 noon, saving us about an hour and 15 minutes!  Turns out he only lives about 20 minutes from there, but he wouldn'
t have had to do that!  He really is a neat doctor!  John left and Michele and I took a walk outside the condo, but it started to rain, so it was short. 

What a view from the back balcony!

We see lots of boats every day, no matter
what the weather conditions are.

A close up of the pier...it's full of fisherman
all day long!

That's our balcony in the middle row 4 floors down
 from the top.  We're on the 14th floor.

This is the view at night from the front porch.

Tuesday morning the kids had to be at the Ft. Lauderdale airport by 4:30am for their 6:00 flight.  Remember that 4:00am morning we thought we were done with...well, John was here at 4:00am to pick them up!!  They got home just fine.  That afternoon Michele and I walked out to the beach.  She just wanted to get her feet wet and find a few nice shells.  

A large group of people on the beach.  The loungers
in the background can be rented for $40/day.

Wednesday was a dreary, rainy day, so we just hung out inside and watched some movies.  Heather and Cooper called tonight.  Heather had a job interview in Harrisburg.  She said it went well and she should hear something by next Wednesday.  Cooper told me about the late Christmas gifts he got from friends from Dry Run and "Aunt" Candy.  Of course most of them were emergency vehicle related.  He LOVES those!!

Michele all tucked into her "upright" chair.  Half her day
is spent in this chair or the recliner where she sleeps.

  Each day Michele makes a little more progress and needs a little less care.  But I'm so glad to be able to be here because when she needs me...she really needs me!  Thursday was a big day...Michele's first post op appt.  The doctor was very pleased with her progress.  Everything looked better than he expected.  It was an eye opener for me to see all that was done.  I call her "the Bride of Frankenstein" now. :)  She was now allowed to take off the compression garment just long enough to shower and throw the garment in the wash machine.  Oh, happy day!!  Getting her back into the garment was quite a job and we were both in tears by the time we were done.  Between that and getting in and out of the car, it really took a toll on Michele!   She didn't have a very good night.  It will be interesting to see what the next week brings.     

Early Departure to Pompano Beach, Florida

   We got up at 4 am and pulled out of our site at 4:45.  We hooked up the Jeep down the road and off we went.  We stopped at a Pilot off Exit 1 to put air in Harvey's tires and to get gas.  OMGosh it was cold...37 degrees and very windy!  We are so looking forward to the warm Florida weather!!!!  We got to Jacksonville about 6:45 and even though the traffic got a bit heavy we had no trouble getting through.  There were no accidents or construction delays!!  It did start to drizzle and we have had intermittent rain the whole trip.  Maybe Bonnie is right...we seem to have a cloud over our heads everywhere we go when we're in Harvey.  That will HAVE to change!!  We stopped again about 8:30 to potty and John got a bite for breakfast.  I was feeling nauseous, so I didn't eat.  Don't know what caused that!  When we got back in Harvey I put my seat back, closed my eyes, and snoozed a bit.  I felt better when I woke up.  The highways in Florida really are quite beautiful.  They sure spend a lot of time and money on palm trees and other vegetation!  And they are clean!!  The skies looked threatening all day and finally it started to rain, but it was nothing horrible, just intermittent showers.



Many of the larger cities off of I-95 are marked like this!



 


The clouds were rolling in.  Look at the pretty
palm trees along the interstate.

 

We'll see a lot more of these in the CG's!!

 

This was our exit off of I-95...

 

...and a very popular one at that.  The line was long!

 

There's a panhandler at almost every intersection...
it's very sad!!

  By the time we got to the Breezy Hill CG in Pompano Beach at 11:30 it had stopped.  We were set up by 12:30 and the rain started up again.  The CG is old, but looks pretty nice.  The sites are staggered, so we are in the back while the 2 beside us are up by the road.  It gives us a lot of space...not as close as we anticipated!  There is a cement slab for our patio. I packed some clothes, toiletries, etc. to take to the condo where Michele is staying. Luckily, it's only about 15 minutes away from the CG!  We had a bite to eat and then we headed out.  We got to the condo about 1:30.  It's a real nice and spacious 2 bedroom/2 bath condo in the process of being refurbished.  I'm sure it will be gorgeous when they're done!  The best part is it's right on Pompano Beach...the views off the balcony and the front porch are beautiful!! 

Nice, huh?!?

 

Our resident "peeping pigeon".

I unpacked and John relaxed a while before he had to leave to pick up Alexandra and Todd at the Ft Lauderdale airport at 4:30. Michele had to meet with the anesthesiologist at the Hialeah Hospital, where she's having her surgery tomorrow, before they closed, so we headed out at about 2:30.  It's about an hour and 10 minute drive south of here.  Traffic on I-95 is CRAZY!!  She was there about an hour.  The drive home took even longer because of rush hour.  We all went for supper to an Irish Pub just down the street, but it wasn't very good.  It was dark and the music was too loud.  John left when we got back...he was exhausted!  Michele and I went to Walmart for groceries and then to CVS.  We didn't get back until after 11:00!  Now I was exhausted and needed to get to bed for hopefully my last 4am wake up call for a good long while!! (Michele has to be at the hospital at 6:30am)

Monday Travels and Tuesday at Kings Bay, GA

  Monday, Jan 4
    We got up at 4am (UGH!) to pull out of Camp Lejeune and head to the Camping World in Myrtle Beach, SC for our 8am appt to get our steps fixed. 

 

The sunrise was beautiful!!

 

 

 

Noticed this large moth hanging on the screen
under the shade on my window.  Found him on
floor when we got back in after they were done
at Camping World.  He must have been dead the
whole time and just stuck there!

The good news is that they found the problem...the motor on the steps was burned up.  The bad news is that the part was covered by the warranty, but not the labor.  So it cost us $250 for diagnostics and labor!!  We're going to try to get some sort of compensation through the Camping World in Hanover where we originally had the steps installed when we get home.  It sure is wonderful to have working steps again.  We were like Tarzan and Jane swinging in and up off that ladder!  We had breakfast at a nearby Bob Evans while the steps were being fixed. We were out of Camping World by 10:30.  We were very grateful for their quick service!!  We put some gas in Harvey and started the 6hr trip to Kings Bay Naval Base.  Talked to Bonnie and Ken on the way.  Ken still isn't feeling very well, but Bonnie is better.  They hope to be in Tampa at Lazy Days by 12:30 or so. 

We passed these cotton fields on the way. 
Looked like they had already been picked.

We stopped twice to potty and get John some coffee (I made him a cheese sandwich on the way) and arrived at the CG at about 5:00.  We are only here 2 nights and we have to move to a different site tomorrow, so we only set up the essentials.  By 6:30 we were down at the club house playing 5 Crowns and doing our laundry.  There are 6 washers and dryers in their laundry room and they are all FREE!  Many of the people we met last March, including the camp hosts, were here again and they greeted us with hugs.  Everyone is so nice here and the CG is immaculate!!  John won the best out of 3 games of cards and we left with our clean laundry by 8:15.  We hadn't had supper yet, (and I never had lunch)so John tried to grill pork spare ribs, but the flames on the grill kept going out even though he used new gas cylinders.  He couldn't figure out why, so he brought them in and we grilled them inside on the stove.  I felt so sorry for him and how frustrating it was because he was already tired from the long drive and by now it was 9:30!!  I texted Vicki and Paul, a couple we met at Jekyll who are from back home, to find out when they were going to be in the area  (they are going out West for the winter but meeting another couple who are coming here and are travelling with).  They said they are already here, so we invited them to have lunch with us at Sonny's Barbecue tomorrow.  John went to bed about 10:15 and I followed shortly after. 
Tuesday, Jan 5
    We got up this morning about 7:30, got showers and had breakfast.  Paul called to let us know they would love to meet us for lunch at Sonny's about 1:30.  I called Bonnie to see how they were doing and how they made out with the work that needed to be done at Lazy Days.  Mostly, all went well, but Ken is still sick :(  I told Bonnie how cold it was here...in the low 40's and wind gusts of 30-35 mph.  She said that if the weather is bad in Pine Island when we camp together, they are not going to camp with us anymore.  We seem to bring bad weather where ever we go!!  John checked with the office to see what site we would be moving to and then checked to see if the space was vacant yet, but it wasn't.  So we played a game and a half of 5 Crowns while we waited. (I won the first game).  We left our site about 11:45 and filled up our propane tank.  It is sooo cold outside!  The people left our site just after 12:00, so we pulled in and did another minimal set up.  Then we finished our card game and I won the 2nd game...Yea!!  We met Paul and Vicki at Sonny's.  This was their first time there!  The food was great and it was fun getting together with them again.  They are such nice people we really enjoy their company!  We said our good-byes and wished them well on their trip to Texas.

Here's the gang at Sonny's

  We stopped at Dollar Tree and Winn Dixie to get a few things and headed back to Harvey.  Did I mention how cold it is outside?  John took a nap and I worked on the blog.  They are playing "Pokeno" tonight at the club house, so he's resting up for that.  We never played that, so we'll tell you how it goes when we get back.  Pokeno is kind of like a cross between Tripoly and BINGO with pots for center card, 4 corners, 4 of a kind, Pokeno(which is regular BINGO), and full card cover. Everyone has a large card with small pictures of 25 playing cards on it...5 rows of 5. Sorry, I should have taken a picture!  They use nickels, so each round costs 25 cents because you put a nickel in each cup that corresponds to each pot.  Someone takes a deck of cards and turns one over one at a time.  You put a chip on your card if you have it.  The round is played until someone has "pokeno", so not every pot is won every round and they build up.  The person who wins calls the next round.  The full card cover builds up all night and is the last game played.  Unfortunately, we didn't win that one, but John won twice and I won 3 times.  We spent $6 and had a lot of fun!  After talking to a few people about our departure tomorrow morning, we decided to leave at 5am instead of 6am, so we could get around Jacksonville before rush hour.  We also have to put air in Harvey's tires and gas him up.  We left the club house about 8:00 and headed back to Harvey.  Let me repeat how cold it is outside!!  We played 2 games of 5 Crowns...John clobbered me!  Michele called and she filled me in on all the details of her upcoming surgery on Thursday in Miami.  I will be staying with her for the next 2 wks in a condo in Pompano Beach.  My granddaughter, Alexandra and her boyfriend, Todd are arriving at the Ft Lauderdale airport tomorrow about 4:30.  John will probably be picking them up.  He will be staying in the Breezy Hill CG in Pompano Beach for the 2 wks I'm with Michele.  Wow!  He'll be able to live like a bachelor for a while.  I suspect he won't really enjoy it, though!  Luckily he is only about 15 minutes from the condo,  so he can visit.  We went to bed about 11:00.  These early morning departures have to soon stop!!  Hopefully, the one for Michele's surgery we be the last one for a while!!!!

Last Full Day at Camp Lejeune, NC

   It was a beautiful day today...sunny and in the high 50's.  We got up about 8:00 and had breakfast. I got bundled up in a sweatshirt and capris, put on my water shoes and headed for the beach at 10:00.  John went to the MCX to exchange some things we got yesterday and then he was going to get things ready for our move tomorrow.  I had a good day on the beach snagging about 300 sharks teeth.  I am so addicted!  I didn't come off the beach until 3:30!!  My feet and hands were pretty cold, but I just couldn't seem to stop.  You know..."just one more".  Heather and Cooper called.  John actually came down to check on me just as I got in the car to come back.  He thought I got washed out to sea :)

A pod of dolphins entertained those of us on the
beach for a little while.

 


 

 Not only did I find a bunch of sharks teeth,
but look at all the sea glass I found, too!

  When we got back he filled a tub with very warm water to rinse my feet off in and made me some hot tea.  I truly am very blessed to be married to this wonderful guy.  He takes such good care of me!!!  We watched some football and I worked on my blog.  We called Bonnie and Ken to see how their trip south was going and to see how they were feeling.  Bonnie is better, but Ken is worse.  They think Ken got what Bonnie had.  They were in stop and go traffic on I-95 in SC when we called.  John grilled steaks for supper.  They were delicious and so were the salads we had with them!  We played 5 Crowns after supper...best out of 3.  I won the first 2 games, but only because John had 1 bad hand in each game!  I was lucky!!  I finished my blog and put all the inside things away to get ready for tomorrow's move.  John finished unhooking everything outside.  We need to be at Camping World in Myrtle Beach at 8am in the morning to have our steps fixed (hopefully), so we have to leave here by 5am.  That's why we're trying to get everything done tonight.

Finally Some Sunshine at Camp Lejeune

   We woke up about 8:00 and the sun was shining!!  But the temp was in the low 40's.  No wonder my nose was cold!!  John made some egg sandwiches for breakfast and then we got ready to go to the MCX before we go to the bowling alley/sports bar on base to watch the Penn St/Georgia football game.  John needs some reading glasses.  We left about 10:45.

I decided to purchase a new scent.  Of course, I
had to smell it first!! 

  After shopping we headed for the bowling alley but had trouble finding it.  We got directions and arrived about 11:15 and, guess what,  it was closed!!  Holiday hours had changed to a 1:00 opening instead of 11:00 :(  We just keep having trouble not only finding places but finding them open!!!  UGH!  So we decided to go back to the Carolina Ale House to watch the game.  With our luck it probably burnt down overnight!  Nope, it was still there, but the game was horrible.  Penn State couldn't do anything right.  And then in the 2nd quarter the quarterback got hurt and was out of the game.  A true freshman took over.  The score was 17-3 at the half.  When Georgia scored early in the 2nd half we couldn't take anymore, so we left. 

 

We stopped at Hobby Lobby to get magnets for my pins.  The lines were incredibly long, I guess, because all the Christmas stuff was 80% off.  there was a guy in line in front of me that had an Ohio State sweatshirt on, so we chatted a bit and told him how bad the game was.  He checked the score and almost unbelievably it was 17-24 and Penn State had the ball at he Georgia 39.  But it wasn't meant to be and the clock ran out before they had a chance to score.  We then picked up a few things at Walmart including an extra blanket for the bed.  It's supposed to get into the 20's tonight!  We got back about 4:15, so I decided to go to the beach to satisfy my shark tooth addiction.  John stayed back and did some reading.  I didn't find very many teeth but I was glad to be there because of the gorgeous sky!

These pictures speak for themselves!!

 

 

This is a view looking back towards the CG

 

This is a row of cabanas on the beach, but they
are not in use at this time because of storm damage.

 

Notice how the pink from the sky is reflected on the sand.
WOW!!!

 

These are more cabins on the beach that are in use.

How about that big one...I can thank the Asian
woman for that one!

 

How pretty is that?!?!?!
 

  Then an Asian woman struck up a conversation with me and when she found out I was divorced she took my elbow and asked if I would walk with her so she could talk with me about her divorce.  I was barefooted and my feet and hands were freezing but I walked with her for about 20 minutes.  It was kind of weird and I was getting pretty far from my car and it was getting dark, so I told her I had to go.  I still don't understand everything she was telling me and why...but I did find a pretty big sharks tooth on the way.  I got back to Harvey (and John) about 6:00.  While nuking some frozen chicken pies the glass tray in the microwave split right in half.  What's up with that?!?  Guess we'll have to order a new one.

Rut Rho!!

  After supper we played 5 Crowns and John whipped me twice but then decided to play one more game...winner takes all.  Yea...I whipped him.  But it still doesn't seem right with the way he beat me earlier. Then I worked on my blog while John watched some TV and played on his tablet.  We'll probably go to bed pretty early because I would like to get down to the beach tomorrow just after sunrise.

Happy New Year!!

   I didn't wake up until almost 9:00!  It was still raining...it had rained all night.  and it was a bit chillier...in the low 60's.  John was already up.  We had breakfast, I worked on my blog, and John re-organized the storage areas under Harvey.  He did a really good job making more room!  I talked with Alexandra for a while.  She and Todd had a fun New Years at a friend's house along with 2 other couples.  Then we cleaned all the fans in Harvey.  John grilled hamburgers for lunch and then I went down to the beach to get my shark teeth fix.  The rain had stopped but I had to wear capris and a sweatshirt to be comfortably warm.  John came down later to fly his froggy kite and look for teeth.

 


It was a great day for kite flying!

Despite the overcast conditions, it was
beautiful on the beach!

The ocean was a bit more "lively" today.

  They were all over the beach today.  I found about 200 of them in 2 and a half hours!

Here I am in my favorite position while searching for teeth!

I did good, huh!?!  John found the olive
shell in the top right corner.  There is some
sea glass in the upper left and a shell
that looks like a button!

  By 4:30 John left and I followed about a half hour later because I was cold.  We decided to have pizza for supper, so we ordered from Pizza Hut and John picked it up.  It was yummy...really hit the spot!  I called Mom after supper.  All is well at Masonic except for Dad's ostomy bag leaking all the time.  I feel so bad for him that he has to put up with that all the time.  He just takes it all in stride...he's quite a guy!!  Then John and I played 5 Crowns.  We both won a game and then he won the "bully".  John went to bed and I worked on the blog.  I finished up about 12:00 and went to bed, too.