Showing posts with label cruises. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cruises. Show all posts

Sunday, December 29, 2019

Bonus Days 11 - 16 (December 23 - 28)

Took a little time off writing.  Christmas came and went.

Connie was able to get out to Pioneer's Christmas Dinner.  Actually ate quite a bit for her.

We took a walk around the park with her in her wheelchair, which we'd like to make more of a habit.  We took a drive to the beach, which was short lived, but she enjoyed it.

The day after Christmas, we had a visit from her nurse.  She made it to the Parrotheads of Port Aransas 4th Thursday Happy Hour after visiting with Dan Sullivan and friends on the beach.  Dan was celebrating his 50th birthday.

Friday, the 27th, we made the decision to cancel our cruise in January.  It was just going to be too much for the both of us, and her time in the room and in bed was going to be greater than the time out of there.

After a visit by the nurse's aide to get her showered up, she made it to Moby Dick's for a performance by The Detentions.  Didn't eat much, but had two beers.  Afterward, she was pretty whipped.

The Buckeyes played in their semi final game against Clemson on Saturday.  She was in bed most of the day, tried to rally when some friends came over, but went to bed around kickoff.

She's beginning to know her limitations.  When she doesn't feel "it", she taps out and goes to bed.  She tries to dress herself, and is successful most of the time.  She's getting worse on the stairs.  That's probably going to be our immediate future.

Sunday, March 22, 2015

(Well past) Time for another update ....

No posts since January.  <sigh>  I guess I hate writing just to be writing.  Blame my college professors and Sue Terrell.  (If you know who she is, thanks for your friendship for all these years!)


 The Porters and I walked the Harbor Bridge (on the left) in Corpus Christi the first weekend of February.  Was neat to say that you've done.  As slow as we did things, really wasn't that bad.  All told, I've done it.  Don't need to do it again.


Of course, after we finished, we went to North Beach for a celebratory beer.  Yes, I know it was 10:30 in the morning.  I have a problem.


February and so far in March have been incredibly rainy.  We've had more rain this "season" than the previous two years combined.  Last year was a lot of shut in time for cold.  This year has been warmer, but been shut in for rain.

Did get a visit from Bethany and James for a couple of days in early March.  Connie and Vickie were able to take her shopping for Baby Davis while I took James golfing.  On the right is James retrieving his drive on #18.

We've been able to meet with our Heartland friends about once a week for a meal and some good conversation.

This last week of March is when the Winter Texans will start flowing out of the Coastal Bend.  Always seems to happen around this time.  Then they all get home and whine about how cold it is there.  Duh.

We met with Connie's oncologist last week and started mapping out our exit strategy.  She's going to do on more treatment in March (next Tuesday the 24th), another in April (on the 14th) then a final one in Texas tentatively on the 5th of May.  Between the 14th of April and 5th of May she'll do the scans and tests and we'll have those results read on the 5th of May.  Whether or not those show progression of the disease will determine how we proceed.  From a health standpoint, she's been very tolerant of these treatments.  Lose the night of the treatment, but that's about it.  No nausea, her weight has held pretty steady and other than some balance issues, has been going about life great.

Speaking of going about life, we decided to take a last minute cruise on April 5th.  Life's too short.

After we hear what the oncologist has to say on the 5th of May, we'll start figuring out a run to South Dakota (have to spend at least one night there every five years), then on to Ohio.  Want to be loose and free with our plans, at least to South Dakota, so that we can play the volatile weather in the Plains during May.  Do hope to be back in Ohio by the Monday after Memorial Day.

That's about it for now.  Treasure every day and the people you spend it with.


Sunday, July 14, 2013

One week and 1618 miles: miles 487 - 916

We left Bethany's house fairly early on Wednesday morning (mile 487) and headed for Baltimore MD.

You've 'arrived' when you have
your own, personalized
timpani stool
I had contacted one of my former students (James Wyman) who had recently been appointed principal timpanist for the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.  James met us outside Meyerhoff Hall when we arrived into town and gave us a tour.  What a beautiful facility.

Very proud of James.  Taught a lot of talented students, some of whom wanted to make music a profession.  Was worried James was never going to leave NE Ohio area and his talents wouldn't be truly appreciated.  He looks to be in a terrific place.

Stayed the night at the Holiday Inn Columbia in Jessup, MD (different bed #3).  Lots of Munzees around, capped quite a few of them, put out a few.  Had dinner at T.G.I. Friday's which was a bit of a disappointment, but we still enjoyed ourselves.

Thursday, we did some morning business at the hotel, had a great breakfast (for a hotel) then headed to the Inner Harbor.  We'd been there before, but we decided to do a different corner than we had been to before.  Afterward, we headed to Fort McHenry.

Oh, say can you see
(this flag?)
As a band director, I had told the story of the writing of the Star Spangled Banner many times.  I had seen the actual banner quite a few years ago at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C.  However, I had never been to Fort McHenry.  Its different when you tell a story vs. you're standing where the story actually happened.  Love that part of history.



Our purpose for our trip to Baltimore was at hand as we boarded the Grandeur of the Seas.  She had a fire in late May which had kept her out of service until Thursday.  We did a 1 night cruise to nowhere and saw most all of her staterooms and public rooms.

They've done a pretty good job of modernizing her.  Neither of us were overly impressed with the way they chopped up the Viking Crown Lounge, but otherwise,  we liked everything about her.  Was excited to see the new aerial display in the centrum but walked away a little disappointed.  Its possible I set the bar too high.

Also had the pleasure to meet face to face one of our newest outside agents (Janelle) and her husband (Jeff).  She's 'Nancy Newbie' (her term) in the travel business, but she reminded us of us.  Gathering every insight, trying to get ideas, learning about the industry, etc.  She's going to do very well in the business.

Spent the night in an oceanview room (different bed #4), had a decent (although too early!) breakfast the next morning and off we headed (mile 916) for Cleveland on Friday.

Friday, November 11, 2011

Day Trip to Ft. Worth

The week has been kind of crazy here.  We were getting ready for our busy weekend. First up, Carmen goes to the vet Friday to get spayed.  Saturday, after college football, of course, we head out to the Zac Brown Band concert.  Can't wait!  And, last but certainly not least, Sunday, we will be going to Galveston to check out Carnival's newest cruise ship - the Carnival Magic.  We'll be sure to share our experiences at the concert and the ship, so be sure to check back next week.

Even with us trying to get ready for all the hubbub, we were able to slip away for an afternoon to Ft. Worth.  Anyone staying in the Dallas area should make a visit to Ft. Worth.  There is something for everyone.

Our first stop was a quick visit to the TCU campus.  The football stadium was getting renovated with a lot more seating.  The campus was very scenic and quaint.

After that, we made our way to the downtown "Districts".  They have three - Cultural District, Sundance Square District, and the Stockyards.  The Cultural District is home to the Will Rogers Memorial and several museums.  The Sundance Square is a nice shopping and eatery area.  Some of the merchants will even validate your parking garage ticket with a purchase.

Our favorite area was the Stockyards.  There are a host of restaurants and pubs located within a couple of blocks.  The streets are all brick and the atmosphere takes you back to the wild west days.  There is even a free Cattle drive daily (11:30AM and 4:00PM).  If traveling there, you must go in and check out the hotel too.  The decor and artwork inside are truly amazing.

We would have liked to have stayed longer in the Stockyards and enjoyed some dinner.  However, we had to get back to "the girls" so we stopped long enough to try a Buffalo Butt beer - brewed locally exclusively for the hotel bar.  It received two thumbs up!

Better get back to making sure we have everything in order for the rest of the weekend.

See ya down the road....

My last post on this blog

This blog was started as a way to communicate to everyone in long form about Connie and my adventures.  It turned into a way to long form gi...