A Pleasant Day in Wildwood!

  John made some yummy pancakes for breakfast and then we went down to the Thousand Trails office beside the pool to talk with a gal about a membership.  After spending about an hour with her and getting all the details and answers to our questions we decided, for us, it wasn't a good investment.  Mostly because most of the Thousand Trails parks are too far from the beach.  We think it is more worth it for us to stay with the 2 zones and Encore specials we get with Josh at the Hershey RV show!  I called mom to check on dad and he is definitely septic.  But they seem to have everything under control at the moment.  We got ready, packed lunches and left for Wildwood about 11:00.  We arrived about 11:40 and found a reasonably priced parking lot.  The boardwalk was wonderful...reminded me of OCMD.  The beach was huge.  It was a very long walk to the edge of the water... felt like a quarter of a mile!!  It was pretty windy and overcast down by the water.  We tried to put up a wind screen but it was too windy to get it anchored in the sand!  It was senior week, so there were a lot of teenagers there, but they were well behaved except for some rough language.  After about an hour the wind calmed down and the sun came out and we had a wonderful day.  John even came back from his walk with 3 sand dollars!

What a nice boardwalk..it went on forever!!

 

 

Look how far it is from the boardwalk to the water!
And how overcast it is.

 

 

John walking back from "testing" the water temp.
It was cold!!

  We left the beach about 4:30 and went up on the boardwalk to get a blizzard at DQ.  Then we spent about a half hour in Playland.  We had a great time playing Skeeball and Poker.  We gave all our tix to some kids which they greatly appreciated!  As we headed out I remembered that I wanted to get some caramel popcorn for our neighbors back home that were taking care of watering my plants.  We, by coincidence, pulled up to a parking area by the boardwalk that was located right next to the Johnson's popcorn stand.  John... you're a genius!!  Of course, we had to get a small one for us, too.  It was so yummy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I talked with mom on the way home and she said that dad was still listed as critical but stable, and his kidneys were starting to fail prompting a need for the doctors to insert a tube into his kidney thru his back to help drain the infection.  We grilled for supper, made a campfire and decided to leave for home in the morning.

Bad News From Home!

 We got up and had a late breakfast.  It was a bit chilly and overcast but we decided to risk it and head into Avalon to the beach.  Boy, did we get this one wrong!!  It was so cold and windy as we got onto the walkway by the beach that we just looked at one another and "uh uh... this isn't going to work"!!  Instead we drove around the town for about a half hour and saw some absolutely gorgeous homes.  Many of them were immense and so well kept.  The lawns were so lush and green.  I wish we could show them to you, but, of course, we forgot the camera.  (We have to get back in the swing of things again!).  We also decided to make a trip to Atlantic City to check out one of the casinos.  We headed back to the CG and the sky got to looking better and better.  So we had some lunch and spent most of the afternoon at the pool. It was lovely except for the call I got from my mother.  My 91 yr old father had become ill and needed to be hospitalized.  About 23 yrs ago he had his bladder removed due to cancer.  Over the years he has had complications from the mesh used in previous hernia surgeries that caused tears in his abdomen and in and around his ileostomy where his bag is attached to collect his urine.  It can lead to severe kidney infections and blood infections that can cause sepsis (infection that goes thru his entire body).  Sepsis can be fatal if not caught in time.  He came close to death about 18 yrs ago because of it and has had several hospital stays in the last few yrs because of it, so he is monitored closely, especially when running a fever.  This time he had a fever and quite a bit of pain, so he was transported to Lancaster General Hospital to be treated.  We didn't feel an urgency to go home right away because of his history of bouncing back pretty quickly... he's like the energizer bunny!!  We asked mom to keep us updated.  We got showers and headed to The Showboat casino in Atlantic City.  Guess what... that was one of the casinos that was shut down a few months ago.  That should have been a clue as to how the evening was going to go!!  We ended up at the Taj Mahal and had no luck at all.  We asked one of the security guards for a recommendation for supper and he told us to go to a steak house just outside the casino.  John checked it out while I attempted a last minute surge.  My surge didn't pan out so we couldn't afford the $50 a plate steak supper.  I would have had to hit an enormous jackpot to even consider eating there!!!!!  We headed out of the city which, let me tell you, has gone downhill considerably.  We have no desire to ever go back there!  I got a call from mom that dad was being admitted to the intermediate intensive care unit and being put on IV antibiotics.  Testing was still being done but it looks like he has become septic with a blood infection.  He was listed as "critical, but stable". 

 When we got back to Harvey we built a campfire, made some s'mores and talked about whether to go home or not, especially since my sister, Bonnie and her husband are out west in their RV.

John got a great campfire going!

 

John looks relaxed sitting at the fire, huh?!?

  It was a beautiful evening and tomorrow is supposed to be nice, so we decided to stay and wait for updates.  We turned in about 11:00.

 

We're Baaaaaack and on the Road Again!





 

Hi everyone!
   We've been pretty busy since arriving home from Florida in April!  John has been walking like crazy-he will walk over 500,000 steps this month-and he goes to the gym almost everyday!!  He even got me to join!!  Our granddaughter, Emma had a 10th birthday party and we attended one of her softball games, I had a garage sale, hosted the "Frogettes" Trivia group and the old neighborhood's "Bunco" group, and kept our grandsons, Bennett and Cooper overnight a few times.  We attend church Sunday mornings and small group every other Sunday night.  I have Praise Team practices on Thursday nights and then John and I go to Micks, a local restaurant, to play Trivia.  Recently, we found out that our daughter-in-law, Arlena is pregnant with triplets.  She is serving as a surrogate for a couple in Connecticut.  We met our granddaughter, Alexandra at a park in Columbia to see her and her boyfriend, Todd gather with his friends for the prom and attended her graduation from the commercial art program at the Brownstown Vo-Tech and from Hempfield HS.  We boated on the Susquehanna river with some friends from church who have a pontoon boat and had the family at our house for a Memorial Day picnic.  We have had a great time with friends and family but are ready to escape the "hecticity" of it all and get away again!
  

Emma at her 10th birthday party.  Isn't she pretty!

                           

She asked for a stuffed animal, so that's what she got from us.
That's her Mom, Cathy, in the background.

Cooper enjoyed the birthday cake, too!!

Alexandra and Todd arriving at the park in Columbia.

Ahhhh...she does love me!

With proud Mom, Michele

The happy couple... do you think Todd is getting tired of pictures?!?
Alexandra asked me to make her wrist corsage and Todd's boutonnière.

Cooper and Bennett playing "Ring Around the Rosie".

 

 

They are both stunning, aren't they?  Of course,
I'm a bit biased!



Alexandra on stage at Warwick HS after receiving her diploma
In graphic arts from Lancaster Career and Tech Ctr



Mom and daughter

 

Emma ready to hit "the big one".

Ready in the outfield

Little sister, Ellie, and grandma are watching
 

The view of 3 Mile Island from the boat... it's so
massive close up!!



Our able bodied captain, Ed...



...and his wife, Carol



See the guy getting ready to swing into the water.
The guys dared to do it... maybe another time!



This was a drive thru pizza pick-up on the water!!



This is a young blue heron...

...we counted at least 23 nests in the clump of trees



Proud mom, Michele and Alexandra
 at Hempfield HS graduation

 

The happy graduate!

 





With cousin and our grandson, Bennett







The proud grandma and "gramps".



We had Harvey the RV at the doctor (Camping World in Hanover) for some warranty issues and a general check up ever since we arrived home in April.  We picked him up on Sat, May 23 and parked him in the overflow lot in our development.  We got him all packed up and left this morning sat 9:30 for Sea Pines RV CG near Cape May, NJ.  We had a smooth trip without much traffic and arrived at the CG at about 12:45.  Kylie, our almost 13 yr old pug, was sure glad... she just doesn't like to travel!  We drove around for a while to find just the right spot.  We pulled in about 1:30 and were all set up and relaxing by 3:00.  We still got it!!  We made some sandwiches for "lupper".  We went outside and realized we didn't have a fire ring on our site so we rode our bikes down to the office to find out what to do.  They told us to just grab one from another site... easy for them to say... those buggers are heavy!! My strong hubby was able to handle it and we were in business for a campfire.  We rode around the CG for a bit and checked out all there was to do and then spent the rest of the evening talking about what all we wanted to do the rest of the week and watched some TV.  We were both tired so we hit the hay about 10:30.  Have to get used to the Queen size bed again (we have a King at home).  It would be easier if John didn't hog my side, too :)
 



We're Heading Home!!

   Actually set the alarm this morning for 6:30 so we could be on the road by 7:30 or 8:00.  John had drained all the tanks and cleaned all the hoses last night so he wouldn't have to do all that this morning.  So... when I got up this morning I knew I wouldn't make it to the clubhouse, so I "peed" in a large plastic cup and got rid of it later.  It was raining when John got up so he "relieved" himself while standing under the awning.  You men are lucky that way!!  I fixed myself up while John finished the little bit of outside work that needed to be done.  We had breakfast and tucked all the inside stuff away and we're headed for the exit by 8:00.  By the time we checked out and hooked up the Jeep it was about 8:15.  We figured we could travel about 4 hrs. until we needed to gas up Harvey.  That would take us just over the Virginia line.  We knew gas would be cheaper there, too.  And it was...$2.09 per gallon!!  We took potty runs and shared a sub from Subway and got back on the road... halfway home!!  It started to rain just as we got into PA.  We only hit one traffic snag on the whole trip and that was on the home stretch near Harrisburg. (we used I-81 all the way instead of I-95). We pulled in the driveway about 4:30, so we made really good time!  It felt so wonderful to be home!!  We brought a few things into the house then tried to start up the Rav 4, but it was dead as a doornail.  So I took the Jeep and went to the vet to get some more pain pills for Kylie that I had called about during our trip home.  Then I stopped at The Country Store to get John his natural peanut butter and Clearfield American cheese and a few other things.  He really missed his peanut butter and cheese during our trip!  We brought in only the things that needed to come in, like all the stuff in the refrigerator and perishable food, and worked on putting those things away.  It was kind of funny that we forgot where we kept things.  We even struggled with the light switches and plates and silverware.  They just weren't in the same places that we were used to finding them the last 3 months!!  By 10:00 we were pretty "bushed" and went to bed.  We'll finish cleaning out Harvey tomorrow.  Sunday we'll go to church to reconnect with our "church" family there and then we'll be joining our family for Easter at Hershey Farms for an early dinner.  On Monday we have to take Harvey to Hanover for the warranty work that didn't get done at Lazy Days and we plan to visit with Bonnie and Ken before they leave on their trip out West.  I have lunch plans with Heather and Cooper on Tuesday and we'll most likely visit with my Mom and Dad that evening.  The cable company is coming Tuesday and Wednesday for some problems and a new hook up we want to do.  We're probably getting Bennett Wed. morning for a day or two. John needs to make an appt. with the family Dr. for his knee and I need to make an appt. with my former employer at the podiatrist office for my foot.  We'll probably go over to York to see Dustin, Cathy and the girls on Thursday afternoon and I have Praise Team practice that night.  And we get our taxes done Friday morning.  Other than that we don't have anything to do.  WELCOME BACK TO THE REAL WORLD!!
   This will be my last blog post until we do some traveling locally later this spring.  So stay tuned and bye for now!!  Thanks to all of you who have been following... we love your comments!!!

Getting Organized and Ready for our Trip Home

   I slept till 8:30 this morning.  John was already up and done with his walk.  He took some pictures of the CG, too. 

 

The CG is very roomy...

 


...you can see we have plenty of room on either side.

 

TW and Arlene got us this map to track all the
states we have camped in.  (we have to stay overnight
to have it count!) 

John admitted to me that the main reason we
stayed in this CG on the way home was so we
could add the North Carolina sticker to the map. 
Now we have to work on Maryland and Delaware!

His knee is still bothering him.  He will have to make an appt. to see our family doc when we get home.  This getting older stuff definitely has its drawbacks!!  He sat on the bed and said, "I had a thought".  And I said," you want to leave tomorrow instead of Saturday".  We both agreed because we're anxious to get home and have an extra day to "re-situate" at home before we get back into life's "hecticity".  We had breakfast and then just worked inside and outside of Harvey trying to go through everything in our all our storage areas to see what we will take home and what we will leave inside Harvey.  I had a ball...I love to organize!!!  We had some cup holders beside the bed that kept falling off, so I hung them this time with 3M Velcro instead of the double sided tape that came with them.  I re-organized all the overhead living room storage cabinets and I have so much empty space that I might need to go shopping when I get home : ).   Even the ones under the dinette table are half empty!!  It was now about 1:00 and we wanted to go to Sonny's one more time.  I took Kylie out and went next door to chat with our new neighbor and introduce Kylie to their 2 dogs.  They have a 12 yr old black lab and a 1 yr old black lab.  Kylie wasn't very interested!  So I took her back into Harvey and off we went for our 45 minute drive to Sonny's.  Oh my gosh... it was sooo good.  We bought 2 different kinds of barbeque sauce and then headed back.  Michele called and invited us for Easter dinner on Sunday and then she's going to do our hair.  When we got back we continued cleaning up and then I walked down to the lady who I bought the clothes line from to check out the picnic table covers.  She uses heavy weight vinyl and sews pockets on the ends to fit over the ends of the table and the benches so you don't have to use the metal clamps to keep them on.  I decided to buy a set.   Donna, one of our neighbors that I met yesterday walked by with her Chihuahua, Dusty, and she helped me decide which color picnic table set looked the best with Harvey.  John also gave his opinion and we ended up with the burgundy one.  Donna and I talked some more and she asked if we were going to play BINGO tonight.  We told her  that we had planned on it, so we met outside at 6:30 and went down to the community building.  We had some ice cream at the country store and then waited for BINGO to start.  I won the full card game on 2 of my cards and got $10!!

I won on both of the cards to the far left!

We walked back together and talked outside for a while and then she and her husband, Jesus, invited us in to see their converted bus.  Jesus did all the work himself!  It took him about a year because he was still working at the time.  It was really nice.  Even had a dishwasher and Jacuzzi tub!  He cut the top off and added 8 inches, so it was roomy.  What a project!!  They came over to see Harvey and we exchanged phone numbers and email addresses so we could keep in touch.  I gave them our blog address, too.  They said they would like to hook up sometime next year when they go to Florida for the winter.  It will be their first time doing that.  They also said we should come visit them in Georgia with our RV because they have a 30 amp hook up.  That would be neat!!  They were very nice people!  We look forward to seeing them again!!

This is Donna and Jesus.  We had a fun time with them!

  We did a little more prep for our leaving tomorrow, I did my blog and we "hit the tick" at 10:30. 

We Went to "Mayberry RFD" Today

   John got up early this morning... apparently "someone" was sleeping a little too well and it woke him up.  Here's a hint... it was a female and it wasn't Kylie.  To make up for it I made pancakes with fresh fruit sauce and bacon for breakfast.  We decided to drive to Mt Airy, about 1 hr away.  It's the birthplace of Andy Griffith.  Since we watch that show on Me TV almost every morning (I know, that makes us old geezers) we thought it would be fun!  And it was supposed to be a beautiful day, so off we went.  We stopped at the Family Lodge and Country store on the way out just to check it out.  It has a game room and TV area and ping pong table.  The Country store has homemade ice cream... yum!  We got to the visitors center about 12:00 and got a map and some info as to where to go.

All the spring flowers are blooming in NC

 

The directory was very helpful!

We headed for "Opie's Candy Shop" first, but then decided to stop in at "Floyd's Barber Shop."  We were told that most of the characters on the show were based on real life people from Mt Airy.  Well, the barber, Russell Hiatt, was in the shop today.  He is 91 yrs old and was the one who cut Andy's hair while he lived there.  He quit cutting hair and driving just last year after a nasty fall.  He told us that when he finally was able to communicate after his head injury he asked the nurse if he would be able to play the piano.  She said, "Sure". And he said, "That's nice, because I could never play before".   He also told us about a time a couple from CA came in and told him what small town they were from.  He took their picture (all the walls in the shop are FULL with pics) and put it up on the wall.  A few weeks later a mother and daughter came in from the same town in CA that the first couple were from.  He told them that he had met a couple from their town and the woman said that, being a small town, she knew everyone there.  He showed her the picture and she said, "Oh my gosh... that's my husband!!". BUSTED!!  I told him that even though I only knew him a short time I already knew he was a troublemaker.  He got a kick out of that.  He told us a few more stories and showed us a picture of his deceased wife of 69 years.  I could have listened to him all day!!

Old signs

 

 

There's Russell who the character Floyd the barber
was based on.  John was sitting in the barber chair.

 

  I gave him a hug and then we went next door to "Snappy Lunch" where their specialty is a pork chop sandwich for $4.20.  John and I each got the specialty sandwich, bag of chips and a soda.  Our bill was just under $12!!  A bologna and cheese sandwich was $2 and a cheeseburger was $2.25!  The most expensive breakfast was $3.75, 1 egg with a tenderloin.

There's the famous sandwich.  The menu says, "the only
sandwich that may have you washing your hands AFTER
you finish eating it.

 

Uuummm...it's good!

   Then we went to the candy shop where you can mix and match all kinds of candy from Sugar Daddy's to coconut slices to horehound drops.  Of course, we bought a mixed pound bag.  Then we walked about 2 blocks to the Andy Griffith Museum.

The bronze statue and inscription out front

 

 

  It started with his birth certificate, elementary school and high school years all the way through his TV shows, movies and record albums.  He actually had a platinum album of gospel songs!  It was a lot of fun!

 

 

  Then there was a small museum about the most famous Siamese Twins, Eng and Cheng who lived in Surry Co in the mid 1800's and are buried there.  They died within hours of each other in 1874 at the age of 63.  Between them they fathered 21 children.  They were married to sisters.  It's a good thing because intimate moments HAD to be "among family".   Hard to imagine!!!  From there we walked along the main street and stopped in a few of the neat little shops.  We bought a couple of things.

This jail cell was in one of the shops... John couldn't resist!

  On our way out we stopped at the country's largest granite quarry.  It was huge!!  No wonder a lot of the larger buildings in Mt Airy are made of granite! 

 

 

They sure can make a lot of tombstones in here!!

We left about 5:00.  It was a wonderful day!!  I called my mother on the way home.  She and Dad are doing well.  We stopped at Walmart and Food Lion for a few things and were back at the CG by 6:30.  On the way back to our site we spotted a table out in front of one of the rigs with one of those PVC pipe clothes line hanger I was planning to make when we got home.  They wanted $20 for it, so John and I decided it would be cheaper in the long run to just buy it.  I chatted with her for a while and then a couple stopped by walking their dog and we all talked for a while.   It started to get a bit chilly so we went in and had some Healthy Choice Steamer Café meals for supper.  I called Bonnie.  She and Ken have run into so many problems with their car and motorhome in the last few weeks.  John and I feel so bad for them especially because they are trying to get everything taken care of before they leave for their trip across the country next week.  They are very frustrated but handling it all with much grace!  I talked with Heather for a while and then John went to bed.  I worked on my blog and then went to bed.  Not quite sure what we're doing tomorrow but it WILL include going to Sonny's Barbeque... we need to buy some of their barbeque sauce... yeah, right!!