Four Days, Three Nights

On Tuesday, July 23rd we left Portland and arrived in Daytona Beach.  I had made arrangements to pick Silas up first thing on Wednesday morning.  When I arrived at his house I was greeted with, "I get to be with you for four days and three nights and then when will I see you again?"  We were both very excited about our extended time together! 

We were staying at The Shores Resort in Daytona Beach Shores.  I'm not sure Silas had ever stayed at a hotel before because when he came into our room he wanted to know where the kitchen was!  For the next four days and three nights we swam and played at the beach and just enjoyed our special time together!

The view from our room

Silas painted this pot during a kid's activity at the hotel

 Looking for fish!

On Saturday John joined us for another beautiful day at the beach. 

 Our last night ended with a tradition of eating at Cracker Barrel.

 We sure hated to say good-bye to Silas.  It was so good to be with him again; we miss him so much!  We look forward to when we can be with him again for another four days, three nights!

Scott and Shelby!

Yay!!!  After eleven months we were reunited with Scott and Shelby!!!  They moved to Portland in late June and if I could've arranged to be at the border on the day they moved - I would've been there!  But how wonderful it was that we got to arrange a brief trip to see them even if it was only for a long weekend.  We drove to Portland from Norfolk, stopping in Connecticut along the way.    Our route took us through NYC which was a little crazy to say the least.

We arrived in Portland around 11 a.m. and planned to meet Scott near the StarBucks where Shelby worked.  Steve dropped me off while he found a parking place and I spotted Scott & Shelby across the street.  I yelled for him like a crazy woman, but I didn't care!  It had been too long since we had seen him!   He had arranged to get off work for the weekend and we were so thankful!

Shelby had to go on in to work at StarBucks, but we got to give her a quick hug, get some coffee, and meet some of her co-workers.  Isn't her StarBucks in the cutest little block?

 Scott then began showing us around beautiful Portland!

Below is the restaurant where Scott works.  I wanted to eat there, but he wasn't too fond of that idea.

 We had a late lunch and then checked into our hotel.  We all took a little nap while waiting for Shelby to get off work.

Afterwards, we drove down to the coast and walked along the rocks, skipping rocks, looking for sea glass and enjoying the beautiful view.

That night we had a belated birthday celebration for Scott down in the Old Port at Gilbert's- he got a lobster and the rest of us had lobster rolls!  Wish I had taken a picture!   They showed us where they had put their lock from their moving truck among all the other locks- it's a local tradition!

The next day is somewhat of a blur but after Shelby got off work we picked them up at their cute apartment.  

And we got to meet Kevin, Shelby and Scott's chinchilla!

Then off to Portland Head Light built in 1787.

It was just beautiful!  Perfect weather, too!  We ended the night enjoying some wonderful pizza together!

On Monday before Steve left for work, he and Scott met for one last breakfast.  Scott came back to our hotel afterwards and caught up on some sleep since he had to work later that day.   When Shelby got off work we walked around the cute city some more.   I could've spent days looking at all of the unique shops!

 Then it was time for Scott to go to work.  Hated to see him go- it was just too short of a visit, but so thankful for it just the same.  One last hug!

 When Steve got off work we drove up to Kittery, Maine with Shelby and walked around L.L. Bean and some other outlets.  Steve and I had one last lobster roll for dinner- Yum!  And Shelby treated us to ice cream!

We can't wait until the next time we get to see them!  It was so good to be with them again!

 We love you, Scott and Shelby!

Tennessee and Virginia

From July 5th thru July 28th, Steve had a business trip that took him to Virginia, New Hampshire and Florida.  I stayed in CA for part of that time due to "you know who" who costs us a FORTUNE when we board him!  So after much planning with all the parties involved I came up with a travel plan and on July 12th it was put into action.

Steve and I realized a while back that for extended trips it was cheaper to pay for a plane ticket for someone to come out and take care of Walter than it was to board him.  So Allison loved that idea and kindly agreed to be Walter's caregiver, along with her friend, Kristin.  They arrived late on the 12th and took me to the airport early on the 13th.  It was very strange to leave L.A. knowing Allison was there.  We don't get to see each other that often and the last time I saw her was at Natalie and Dan's wedding which didn't allow for much down time.  But it sure was nice knowing that Walter would be well cared for!

My first stop was to Nashville where my sister, Kathy, picked me up at the airport and then off to Martin, TN we went to start the process of going thru my father's house.  He decided that he does not want to return to his house and wants to sell it.  He's living in Humboldt at a VA nursing home.

my mom's key chain still hangs 22 years later

I stayed in TN for five nights and my sisters and I went through the entire house except the attic and outside storage room.  Here are some of my favorite things:

some childhood memories and my medication file card system from nursing school-ugh!

posters from my room

me and my best friend, Tiff

my sister's hairdryer 

                                                                    "Cool Cat"


                                                                           

a trunk full of Southern Living magazines from the 70's & 80's

My dad's favorite spot to sit in the kitchen- check out the wall paper!

Cloth maps from my dad's WWII emergency kit

These pillows have been around forever as have these brushes and combs- lots of memories though of fixing my mom's hair when I was a little girl using these tools

Piano recital statues and my piano practice card with my mom's signature

One scary puppet from Mexico!

The trash pile 

I left on July 18th to reunite with Steve in Virginia.  He had been in Hampton for almost 2 weeks and was able to see Dan and Natalie several times within that time.  I hadn't seen the newlyweds since their wedding so it was fun being picked up at the airport by Natalie and meeting Finley!  

She wasn't too sure about me at first, but quickly warmed up to me.

It was great being with Natalie and seeing her decorative touches with their home!

Dan was out on his ship on the day that I arrived but returned the next day.  We enjoyed celebrating his return with a delicious lunch from Handsome Biscuit

 It was a short 24 hours with Natalie and even shorter with Dan, but it was great seeing them and meeting sweet Finley!

We look forward to seeing them again hopefully soon!

Our next stop . . . Portland, Maine!