Florida Before our Keys Adventure, Day 1...

Thursday, February 13th, was our 55th anniversary. We would spend it in the car headed from Atlanta to Wesley Chapel, Florida outside of Tampa. 

I posted this on Facebook to celebrate our 55th Anniversary: 

You're my bread when I'm hungry

You're my shelter from troubled winds

You're my anchor in life's ocean

But most of all, you're my best friend

(A Favorite Don Williams Song)

Happy 55th Anniversary to my Best Friend! Love Ya Bunches!! Let's have a great day together today to start 56!

I sent this to our family on our family Facebook page. "And this is why we fled south!! Note the 'feels like' temps!"

A few observations as we drove this day. We passed an oversized load on I-75 as we entered Florida which literally took up two lanes of traffic. That, my friends, is a true oversized load!

At 2:06 we entered Florida.

At 4:13pm we were in a backup of traffic caused by a wreck. The thing that rattled my nerves was the truck carrying cars we were behind! Ugh!

We made it to Wesley Chapel and our hotel. I made note of the fact that many people smile and speak when you are traveling like this. I really like that. 

We opted to go to Outback Steakhouse for our anniversary dinner. We went to Outback Steakhouse last October in Santa Fe for Claude's 75th birthday. It seemed like a good idea. I ordered salmon, broccoli and rice. Claude ordered a steak. All was going great until I took my second bite of my rice. I found a hair, a long hair, in the rice and pulled it out. I could not eat that rice. That meal was delicious other than the human hair. My server came over and noticed I ate everything but the rice. I was not going to say anything, but he asked so I told him it had a hair in it. He wanted to get me another dish of rice. I assured him I was really quite full with my salmon and broccoli. He said he would get his manager. I had not asked for the manager. But, here he came. I explained what happened. He wanted to get me another meal. I did not need another meal. It was all very pleasant as I assured him I would eat at Outback again. I just couldn't eat that rice. He offered desserts for us but we neither had room for a dessert. When the bill came, my meal had been taken off the bill. Bless their hearts. People sue at the drop of a hat. A mistake was made. I just hope they counsel that employee to wear a hair net next time. For the rest of the trip, Claude would comment that my meal didn't have a hair in it that time!

Friday, February 14th, was Valentine's Day. Claude and I typically don't do a lot for this day as our anniversary is the day before it. We would drive from Wesley Chapel to Florida City with a tourist stop in between. 

Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum on the Big Cypress Seminole Indian Reservation was our stop. It was absolutely delightful. This is a small museum. It is owned and run by the Seminole Nation that lives on this reservation. These pictures are from the parking lot across the street to the front of the museum. 

In the Seminole language, Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki means a place to learn, a place to remember. To start our learning, we watched a 17-minute video entitled "We Seminoles". It gives an excellent history of these people. Their struggles with the British and Spanish. Their struggles to stay on their land when the U.S. Government sent all others west. The fact they are a sovereign nation. Their casino funds a lot of what they do including a K-12 school for their children where traditional education and education in their culture and custom taught. Money is given to this support this museum. Very informative video. 

We were there later in the day, so we opted to walk the 1-mile raised boardwalk loop through the cypress dome as it would close by 4pm. This boardwalk zigs and zags through the cypress dome with plaques describing the trees, plants and animal life. There are benches were you can sit and rest if you need. There are emergency stations along the loop in cases you have any trouble. There are also places set to help you understand their hunting camps, what a living village would have been like, a clan pavilion and more. We really enjoyed this walk. Some of my favorite things were the ferns growing under the trees. These speak peace to my soul. I loved all the varieties of air plants growing on the trees. They do not take nourishment from the tree. I was fascinated with the red lichen on some of the trees. 

After we finished the 1-mile boardwalk, we went back inside the museum and cooled down a bit. Then we walked through the exhibits inside the museum. These are rotated three times each year. 

Woman and man dress

Quilters will appreciate the work of piecing these fabrics together. Once the strips of pieced fabric are done, they can be made into clothing like this amazing jacket.

A head dress.

Hunters

A wedding.

Preparing for company.

Note the interesting hairstyle.

A family in a canoe 

Dining.

Children playing.

A pouch to be worn around the neck.

A stick game.

We headed back to our car passing a statue and Spanish moss hanging from the trees and air plants growing on them. Great stop. Highly recommend this one.

As we drove to Florida City, I was reminded of the lesson we learned about them 'draining the swamp' to make way for man. 

We opted for a quick dinner at Wendy's, which was right across the highway from our hotel. Then we stopped at the gas station in front of the hotel to get a candy bar as our Valentine's Day celebration! 

Run Away...Run Away...

Time for our February Road Trip!! Time to check something else off that bucket list. Claude has always wanted to drive the Ocean Highway from the tip of mainland Florida all the way to Key West in the Florida Keys. We have done a trip where we flew into and out of Key West and spent several days in just Key West. This trip would be a driving trip from Kentucky to Key West and back. The plan was to leave on Wednesday, February 12th. Then, the weather reports started to fly again. It seems another storm with 6-8 inches of snow, followed by ice and rain, kept awful by temperatures below freezing during the day and evening. Yuck!! We did the first round of this kind of weather already. We decided we would leave Monday morning and get away before this hit Kentucky Monday night. So we Ran Away, Ran Away!!

Monday, February 10th, we were up and finished loading the last minute things into the car. We made it safely to Tennessee. We stayed near Chattanooga. There was a nice Italian/Greek restaurant near the hotel, Portofino's, where we enjoyed a great meal. Then a quiet night in our hotel room. 

Tuesday, February 11th, we found our way to Douglasville, Georgia outside of Atlanta. There we found Champs Clock. My mechanical clock we purchased in Las Vegas 20 years ago needed a little tweaking. I called the company in Atlanta, that was the only one who could work on these clocks, and learned they went out of that business. They did have on their website a list of potential companies that might do this kind of work. One was Champs Clock in Douglasville. 

Claude and I were smitten with this clock shop. It seems, when Rhythm clocks stopped selling and servicing their clocks, Champs purchased the lot to sell in their shop. And such a cute shop it is.

It is a family owned and operated business. The man in the shop when we got there is the son-in-law of the owner. They all live close to this building in the picture. There are three rooms full of clocks of all kinds. We roamed these rooms. Here is some of what we found.

There were clocks of all shapes and sizes and styles from very modern to classic. From tiny to sit on the edge of a desk to wall to great huge cuckoo clocks. While looking through these clocks, we hear a cow bellow and a dog bark in their version of a cuckoo clock. It turns out this shop and the clocks in it have been in two movies and the signs out front tell you about them.

We left my clock with the understanding it will take a while for them to get to it as there are at least 40 in front of me to get repaired. Meeting and seeing the business makes me feel very comfortable with their love of and care for clocks. I shall wait patiently. 

On we drove to our hotel in Atlanta. It was located in Atlanta by a stadium. Center Park Stadium was originally the home of the Atlanta Braves. Now it is home to the Georgia State Panthers. We would walk to Bull Pen BBQ across from the stadium for our dinner. 

As we walked back to the hotel, we noticed some little conveyances outside Center Park Stadium. We thought about each getting one and taking a tour of the area. Then we remembered Italy and Mackinaw Island and, after a good laugh, we opted not to try them.

Wednesday, February 12th, we had a free day in Atlanta. Alas, the weather had come to Atlanta in the form of a pouring rain. Buckets I tell you, buckets. Fortunately, we have visited Atlanta before and hit the big highlights that trip. We found a nice indoor experience for this very rainy day. 

We went to "Horizon of Khufu: An Immersive VR Expedition in Egypt". This piqued our curiosity as we have been to Khufu's pyramid in Egypt. This promised to take you virtually inside the pyramid. It was inside. It was dry. It was something we have never done before. It would be a lot of fun. 

When we arrived at the venue, Claude needed to have a little something to eat with some medication he was taking. We were directed to a Kroger store a few blocks away. Kroger had parking in the basement and out front of the store. To get to the store on the second floor, you entered the first level and took an escalator or elevator to grocery store on the second floor. You would do your shopping and then exit by going back down the elevator with your cart or carrying your bags down the escalator. Crazy. 

Back to the venue for our Khufu VR Expedition. After signing a waiver so they couldn't get sued if you hurt yourself (always comforting thing to do), we went to a little open area with signs on each wall. There are multiple types of VR experiences happening at the same time. We were directed to the wall with signs about Khufu's pyramid and given time to browse them.

Then we were taken to be fitted for our VR eye gear. I really don't know the technical term for these things. Here is a quick shot I got of Claude being fitted. They have to sit on your head comfortably and allow you to look through the lenses comfortably. 

I noted that all the walls had this way out-of-the-box artwork painted on them. I could see an entrance into another large room with the exact same wall art. 

After we were both fitted, we could hear in the ear pieces on the head sets, the narrator and tour guide of the Khufu experience. We were shown blue lines on the floor and told to always stay inside whatever shape that blue line took. We were shown orange lines and told that was the absolute furthest we could walk. We were shown a red grid to our side which indicated were were too close to the wall or edge of the structure we would be traveling through. We were also shown a white broad line going to a white obelisk. If we really got off track, this would come up in our view and we should follow it. Once we understand the rules of the road, we were invited to begin our adventure. A blue shape came up and we walked into it. I could see Claude as a figure outline made of dots with his name on his forehead. He could see me the same way. As we progressed, other figures made out of dots would walk past us. I am guessing they were on another adventure or maybe having the Khufu experience. 

As the adventure progressed, we had to get up to a certain level on the outside of the pyramid. Here is where your senses were challenged. The rocks you could see under your feet began to raise up in the air along the side of the pyramid to get you to where we would get off to enter the pyramid. There was a space between where we stood to be raised to this level and the edge of the pyramid. We found ourselves concerned about stepping across it. The reality is we were on a level floor the entire time. It was the video that was moving us. But we felt like we were moving. We felt like you could fall stepping across to the side of the pyramid. We both made it. Then were went into the pyramid. Our guide had to bend way down not to hit the roof of the shaft we were to travel down. I found myself bending down also. Really, it was all open space but you are so conditioned by the view in the VR headset and the instructions at the beginning, until you react as though all that stone is really in your way. 

Our platform inside the pyramid now went down the shaft while we stood still. At the bottom, we were in the room where the Pharoah Khufu was buried. This type of movement and walking on stones that had spaces between them continued as we visited the queens burial chamber, and other open areas inside the pyramid. We would be taken outside to the edge of the pyramid overlooking the Nile and Cairo. Then we would climb to the very top of the pyramid for a view of the entire area. We would see how Pharoah Khufu was mummified. Then we would ride his barge into the afterlife. 

It was a fun experience. We realized we were all in one huge room on a flat floor the entire time. The VR headset and all those specific instructions really have you believing what you are seeing. We both had to get our equilibrium back a bit after the experience. We would try this again with another theme. You can't take pictures as all you are seeing is inside the VR headsets. 

We dined at Grindhouse Killer Burgers before returning to our very dry, very warm hotel room. This burger place shows B movies while you eat. 

Now we were ready to experience Florida!

The Importance of Having a Plan and then Being Flexible...

Monday, February 3rd, was spent Blogging and getting a start on the March Relief Society newsletter. Such an average kind of day. 

Tuesday, February 4th, my day was spent accomplishing household things (laundry, etc.) and getting Valentine's for the great grandmonsters wrapped for shipping and creating Bailey's birthday gift. 

In the evening, we went to the Louisville Temple. It was a truly spirit filled session for me. I am so grateful that Steve Gulbrandsen, my sister Junie's husband, has done so much research for family names. I can go to the Family History website for the Church and print a name from my family to take to the temple. I love doing this work for these deceased relatives.

Wednesday, February 5th, I was grateful for having a blood pressure cuff in our home. I did not feel right in the morning. I took my blood pressure and it was very high. It stayed that way all day long. 

I did go to my only office PT session this week. I am now only going once a week. Took my time and made it through fine. Then came home to ice up and spent the afternoon in my recliner. 

In the evening, there was a Google Meets Relief Society Presidency meeting. I did sit in on that. I was still no on my game. But I felt a little bit better. 

Claude was a real hero and made us homemade beef soup for a rainy cold day. Yum!!

Thursday, February 6th, Claude would go to Frankfort this day with the Communications Council. He took two teens from our stake with him. This meant it took my car. I was homebound for the day. Not a bad deal. I was able to putter through my home PT and other things I wanted to get done. 

Claude was back home about 1pm and headed to the dentist. He had a tooth that they replaced the crown on a few weeks back. It was giving him pain. They fit him in at 2pm. Turns out he has an abscess. Dr. Hollen ground down parts of the crown so it fit a bit better. She prescribed and antibiotic for him and referred him to Dr. Kelly in Lexington to see if there is something with that root that needs addressing. 

I was able to crochet around a girls burp pad in the evening.

Friday, February 7th, was our turn to clean the church. The rest of our crew was to clean Saturday morning but we were to be in LaGrange with Bailey. So we went Friday morning and cleaned the chapel and all the entry doors glass. 

This is where the wheels started to go off our well planned bus. Here was the original plan:

• Friday evening Andie and Michael would head to Indianapolis to see Billy Joel and Sting. (Remember this was supposed to happen in September but was gully-washed out when the hurricane came through.)
• Saturday morning head to LaGrange. Take Bailey and a friend to lunch for Bailey's birthday. We would spend the night at the Marx home.
• Sunday we would take Bailey to LYO and some other evening right after that. Andie and Michael would return in the afternoon or evening. Then we would head back to Georgetown.
• Wednesday morning we would leave for our Key West Trip.

Friday, I received a text from Andie saying she and Michael were sick. They were going to the Little Clinic by their home to be sure they didn't have something. Then they would make a decision about going to Indianapolis. Okay, we went ahead and cleaned the church as planned.

Then we tried to deal with Claude's abscessed tooth and his antibiotic. He learned the the prescription for the antibiotic had been sent to CVS to be mailed to him. Hmm, we were going out-of-town and this was NOT going to work. When he checked his CVS app, it didn't have any prescription being filled for him in any way. We called the dentist office, which is closed on Friday, and left a voice message explaining the need for the antibiotic sooner than mailing. There was nothing else we could do. 

Also, the weather report was now stating we were in for a winter storm Monday night into Tuesday. It appeared we would get six inches of snow with ice on top of that, then some rain. Ugh. We did not want to be trapped in our home and not be ablet to make our trip. We started watching the weather in earnest to see what changes were happening. We also plotted to leave Sunday or Monday to get away from the storm. Goodness. Our carefully planned weekend and next week were falling apart. It's strange to have no control over the things happening. We could only control how we dealt with it. 

In the evening, I actually cooked for Claude. I made meatloaf, mashed potatoes and gravy and spinach. Claude was so happy with the meal. He was also happy not to be the cook for one evening. 

As we sat watching a little television and me crocheting a boy burp pad, Claude received a telephone call. It seems someone from Dr. Hollen's office came in to the office and got Claude's voice message. A new prescription had been called in to CVS. He was to call CVS and confirm they had it. Claude called CVS, they had the prescription and would have it ready for him in 45 minutes. We continue our television program and then drove to the very long line at the drive-thru at CVS to pick up said prescription. 

When we finally got to the drive-thru window, they had not filled the prescription and said it would be another 15 minutes. We drove around to the front of CVS and parked and waited for 15 minutes before Claude went inside to pick up the antibiotic. Yeah!! We thought....

We got home and Claude read all the instructions and pertinent information about this antibiotic. He had been prescribed Clindamycin. Ugh. This was prescribed to me and two weeks after finishing it, I got C-Diff. This is an awful thing to get. Not everyone gets it but enough do that it is listed on the drugs possible side-effects in the paperwork that comes with the prescription. We will pray Claude is one of the people that it doesn't affect. I will NEVER take that antibiotic again. EVER!!

Saturday, February 8th, Andie and Michael were both down. Michael tested positive for flu. Andie did not. Michael was really not exhibiting symptoms. Andie was. Since Andie teaches first grade, she was also prescribed Tamiflu. They were not going to Indianapolis. It was supposed to be very rainy again. These kids can't catch a break in seeing Billy Joel. He is actually coming to Cincinnati but Rod Stewart is his opening act and he is not a draw for Andie and Michael. They would spend their weekend at home resting and trying to get well. 

I quickly did two loads of laundry in the morning so we could pack if needed. Goodness. 

Okay, the other irony about this is that a number of school systems have had to cancel classes. Lots of sick kids but, also, LOTS of sick teachers with not enough substitutes to cover and LOTS of sick bus drivers with not enough to get the kids to school and home again. Andie's school system was in that category during the week. They had school Monday of this week. Then school was canceled Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and to be NTI days. Then Friday was added as a no school day. Andie did not have flu symptoms any of these days she had no in-class teaching. Now, over the weekend, she was sick. The school systems told the teachers to come Monday prepared with two days of NTI for the students because of the weather coming into Kentucky Monday night. 

We did go to LaGrange at 1:30pm and pick up Bailey. We took her to McCallister's for lunch (her choice and one of our favorites). The we opened her presents in our car. She loved her gift. 

Then we headed to Kroger for her to pick out and ice cream she wanted. She picked Ben & Jerry's. Of course!

We dropped her at her home and we headed back to Georgetown. We watched the weather and made the decision to pack and get the house ready on Sunday. Then leave Monday and get south of where the storm would be. 

One thing we have learned with travel, you must be flexible. Enjoy the things you are able to do. When something doesn't or can't go as planned, make the best of it. Your attitude makes all the difference. That you can control. 

Sunday, February 9th, we slept in. I did my home PT. We started to clear our desks and get ourselves packed for an early departure on Monday morning. As of this writing, we are still not sure how far we will get but we are ready to go and enjoy this anniversary week. It will all be GREAT!!

My Week in Review...

Monday, January 27th, my semi-annual dental cleaning went quickly and well. Yeah Me!! I followed this positive experience with a quick stop at Walmart. My purpose was to purchase more Oil of Olay face cream. That done, my shopping cart took control and headed toward the grocery section. As I followed it through the ladies clothing section, two new tops jumped into my cart. Wow!! Then my cart sped to the bread section where I found two bags of Thomas whole wheat bagels. One of which leapt into my cart. This day was going great! When I returned home, it was time to call Jake and check in with him. He was also doing great. Could it get any better than that? I don't think so.

Tuesday, January 28th, would Tuesday be as good as Monday? It started with Claude and I going for a biscuit run before my 11am PT appointment. While I did exercises and got stretched at PT, Claude went to Kroger for a few last minute groceries. I spent my afternoon crocheting snowflakes. Katelyn called and we had a nice chat. To top off this most excellent day, Claude fixed grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner. This one of my favorites. Great day!

Wednesday, January 29th, was the day to begin getting ready for weekend company. I did the dusting, sweeping and vacuuming. In the afternoon, Claude and I drove to Lexington to locate University of Kentucky's Singletary Center for the Arts. We could have to make several trips here over the weekend and wanted to know where it was before hand. We found the Student Center and potential parking for a concert later in the week. Whew. That accomplished, we headed to City BBQ for our big meal of the day. We we got home, Jessie Carter called to talk to me about meeting Dr. Myhand. So nice to share in her positive experience.

Saw this on Facebook and sent the pictures to Jake. They were taken by the NASA James Webb Telescope. They are rare fire rainbows in the sky over Hawaii. The photos are not photoshopped. I think these are beautiful.

Thursday, January 30th, at office PT, I told Tina I was going to start coming only once a week. I asked if when I finished, would she please give me the types of exercises I should continue so that I keep strengthening my shoulder. It was a rainy afternoon and evening. I curled up and crocheted more on the snowflakes. 

Friday, January 31st, after home PT, I called our friend, Betty Dixon. Another friend alerted me that her brother had passed away. It was good to visit with Betty. 

In the evening, we would begin our weekend of Bailey and Sophia adventure. Bailey and Sophia were participating with the University of Kentucky Honor Band all weekend. They would sleep at our home and we would be there transportation to and from the Singletary Center each day. Andie drove them to the Singletary Center and made sure they were all checked in for their training. Then she drove to Georgetown and Claude and I treated her to dinner at McCallister's. So fun to sit and eat and visit with our daughter. Love these moments with my children. Our car is not as big as Andie's. We took the girls luggage and backpacks when we finished dinner. Then we hurried to the Singletary Center to pick up the girls by 9pm. They settled in nicely when we got home. Bailey made her usual nest in the study and Sophia would camp out in the guest bedroom. Claude would not be able to use his desk until Sunday. He was a happy Grampa to share his space with Bailey.

You must look closely at this picture to see the humor I found when I realized what Claude was wearing. During the week, I wore my DePaul "Grandma" shirt to office PT. When I came out, I was surprised to see Claude wearing his DePaul "Grampa" shirt. They both would go into the wash. I would fold them and put them in our respective dressed drawers. Claude would wear what he thought was his again. I cracked up laughing and took this picture. He had on my t-shirt. I must have folded it and put it in his drawer by mistake. He put it on and never questioned that it fit. I love big t-shirts. I am still laughing and this comedy of errors. 

Saturday, February 1st, we were out of the house by 8am to get the girls to the Singletary Center by 8:30am. Claude and I drove back to Georgetown and treated ourselves to a biscuit breakfast at Chick-filA. I did take a very quick nap after home PT and icing my shoulder. Then I sat down to finish crocheting the snowflakes. Having the crocheted now puts me to the next step of ironing, shaping and starching them. Then I must put a string on for them to hang on a Christmas tree. 

We made it back to the Singletary Center by 9pm to pick up the girls. Our process has been for Claude to drop me off and I go in and locate the girls. Claude drives around and eventually meets us out front. This night, the girls had a concert they had to watch. A middle school band was performing and the UK Wind Ensemble performed. This ran late. I kept sending Claude text updates so he knew what was going on. He found a parking spot and waited till I send the text that we were out front. There is limited parking in the part of Lexington and the drive in front of the Singletary Center was full of other parents waiting to pick up their kids. By 9:30pm the were finished and we met Claude and headed home with two young ladies quite ready for a good night's rest. 

Sunday, February 2nd, we left at 8am again and had the girls there by 8:30am. Then we made it to Bojangles for our biscuit breakfast treat. Once home, I did home PT while Claude tried to find his desk to complete a few tasks. Then Claude took a quick nap while I worked on my laptop. 

In the afternoon, we were back at the Singletary Center for the concert where the Honor Bands would perform the music they learned Friday evening, all day Saturday and Sunday morning. The guest conductor for the Symphonic Band which Bailey played in was from the University of Missouri, Dr. Amy Knopps. 

We finished our outing with dinner at Schlotzsky's. Yum. Marx family could not join us. 

It was a good week. 

Boxes...

Sometimes, I have very vivid dreams. Often, it is because of a show I watched on television or some book I read. One night a couple of weeks ago, I had one of those vivid dreams. I awoke from the dream and felt very unsettled. It felt like that particular dream meant something. It felt like a warning. 

The next day, I shared my dream with Claude and asked him what he thought. Here is the dream.

I dreamed Claude  and I were driving in a car. Claude was the driver, I was in the passenger seat. That is very normal. It was dark and we were going up a hill. It was not a tall hill, just a little hill. However, it was tall enough you could see light coming over the top but you couldn't see what was on the other side. As Claude drove, I realized there was a very large cardboard box in the middle of the road. Claude couldn't see over the hill but the box was in the middle of the road and appeared too large to drive over. Claude carefully pulled into the oncoming lane to try and get around the box. That is when I realized there were many boxes of different sizes all across the road. Quickly, we realized the only way to get over that hill was to plow through those boxes. Claude proceeded to do that. I woke up before we topped the hill. 

I pondered what in the world this dream meant. It really seemed to be a warning of some kind. I felt like those boxes were problems and we would just need to plow through whatever was coming into our lives. Claude could see that as a meaning to this dream.

Interestingly, things started to cross our life path. Hard things.  

• My BFF, Laura, called to tell me she had a rapidly growing breast cancer. She would need surgery and needed to find the right surgeon at the right hospital. 
• We got a text message from Bill, a brother-in-law in Utah, letting all of Claude and his siblings know that John had a stroke and was in the hospital. John was married to Joann, Claude's sister, who passed away from cancer a couple of years ago. 
• Friends in Sadieville had a house fire and they lost everything. There are ten in this family. 
• A nephew is having severe mental issues. 
• And, the list goes on. Boxes...many boxes.

I felt I wanted to record this turn of events. I do believe we can receive promptings about many things. We have to be still and listen sometimes. But I know from past experience, this is possible. Claude and I really live a very good life. We are richly blessed with the necessities of life and a little extra to enjoy and share. These things have happened to others and we can be a support for them. I am grateful for promptings. Not sure what other boxes will come into our path. But I am sure there will be others.