by Judy Handley | Nov 24, 2017 | 2017 Life Logs |
2017 Life Logs, Day 328: Back Home on Cape Cod
Date: Friday, November 24, 2017
Weather: Partly Sunny; High Temp from 70’s to 50, Low 47 degrees F
Location: Back Home In The Studio, Falmouth, MA
This morning I was in sunny, warm Florida with family and tonight I’m at home on significantly cooler Cape Cod. Ahh, the marvels of modern transportation. Justin, Jo, Ziggy, and Coco also returned home to Puerto Rico today. On their way home from the San Juan airport, they went to one of the stores that we found on the web advertising Stihl chainsaws and, thankfully, they were able to buy one. Hurray! So, we are all back where we were this time last week. It is always good to get home, but that Florida warmth is very alluring and having my children and grandchildren together was so special. The stay in Fort Myers Beach was shorter than I would have liked, but the four days there were truly fantastic. I’m going to take this weekend to reflect and catch up with myself and give some thought to travel this upcoming winter before we launch into the holiday season. Then, off we go.
On the way home from the airport this evening, I spent some time counting up the number of cousins and aunts and uncle (only one) my grandkids met this week. The older generation consists of Mark’s sister Mary Ellen and brother-in-law Lee, sister Jeanie and her significant other Tom, Mark’s brother Steve, and me.
Heather and Justin are 2 of 9 first cousins in the middle generation.
And then there are 14 in the younger generation, the children of the first cousins.
It was great spending time with them and I hope we can do this again in a couple of years. We certainly should not wait another 16 years. The last time all members of the family were together at one time was in August of 1991 to celebrate Dan and Nettie’s, Mark’s parents, 50th anniversary. They were married on August 26, 1941, and started this whole thing. And the family certainly has grown in the past 16 years!
by Judy Handley | Nov 23, 2017 | 2017 Life Logs |
2017 Life Logs, Day 327: Fabulous Thanksgiving Day
Date: Thursday, November 23, 2017
Weather: Partly Sunny AM, Rainy PM; High 73, Low 69 degrees F
Location: At The Outrigger on Fort Myers Beach, FL
This was a fabulous Thanksgiving Day, although happy and sad at the same time. Mark’s sister, Mary Ellen, hatched the plan for us to do a family take-over of the tiki hut with picnic tables here at The Outrigger for our Thanksgiving dinner, and it worked perfectly. We really had no competition and there was just enough room for all thirty-seven of us to enjoy our Thanksgiving dinner together. A great big thank you to Mary Ellen and Lee for delivering the food and setting things up for all of us. The happy times were the games on the beach and the time spent talking to family. I had a nice walk out to the water with Justin, Jo, and Coco this morning, and we walked and swam out to a sandbar and back. Things have been so busy since we arrived that I have hardly had time to spend with them, so our little walk and swim was a happy time for me. Ziggy wasn’t with us as he was playing with the ‘boys’, but just watching all of the cousins playing together was so special. There are only two ‘girl’ grandchildren on the Handley side of the family, Coco and Steve’s granddaughter Katie. All the rest are boys and all of them love to have fun.
Just as we finished our Thanksgiving dinner, the rain came. But we were dry under the tiki. The rain gave us the opportunity to sit around and visit, and then we gathered to celebrate Mark’s life. Stories were told that made me both laugh and cry, so this was a happy, sad time. I thought I had gotten to the point where I could talk about the loss of Mark without tearing up. But today I found that not to be the case. Being with his family in Florida brought back so many wonderful memories. And the stories that were told reminded me once again of what an incredibly lucky person I was to be married to Mark Handley. We lived a life of adventures that some only dream about. Mark made his dreams come true and took me along with him. I really do have to write that book to honor his memory.
When the rain subsided, everyone headed out to the beach for a family volley ball game. Some of us watched while others played until sunset. We will all be heading home tomorrow and I will be taking with me some wonderful memories. It has been delightful to watch Sam, Jonah, and Ziggy interact with cousins they have never met before. Ollie and Coco became inseparable this week and what a joy it has been to watch them play together. And just seeing Justin, Jo, Ziggy, and Coco has been so very special. I have worried so much about their situation in Puerto Rico over the past few weeks, but they all look healthy and happy and are ready to continue to do their part in rebuilding Puerto Rico. Saying farewell is always a sad time, but hopefully we will find a way to be together again soon.
by Judy Handley | Nov 22, 2017 | 2017 Life Logs |
2017 Life Logs, Day 326: Cousins, Cousins, Everywhere
Date: Wednesday, November 22, 2017
Weather: Mostly Sunny; High 83, Low 68 degrees F
Location: At The Outrigger on Fort Myers Beach, FL
Today was all about cousins. Cousins, cousins, everywhere. All of my nieces and nephews, gathered this evening to celebrate the 60th anniversary of my sister and brother-in-law. Happy Anniversary to Patsy and Joe!
Long before I knew there was going to be a 60th celebration, we had made arrangements to come to Florida to spend time with the ‘cousins’ here. So my heart was in both places today. At lunch time today, a third cousin who I never knew I had, came here to The Outrigger to meet me over lunch. We first met on Ancestry.com, and it was wonderful to meet in person today. Dave and Jean Barbour, Dave being the third cousin.
We first met on Ancestry.com and then met in person today. My great Grandpa Jim Biggs was the brother of Dave’s great grandpa. Dave and Jean live in Estero which is close-by, so when I knew I was coming here for the Thanksgiving week, we made arrangements to meet in person. And then this evening, the cousins from the Handley family all met here at The Outrigger.
Most are spending tonight and tomorrow night here. They are all from Florida, but some are from Jacksonville, some from Pensacola, some from near Lakeland, and some live in this area. Only one of Steve’s daughters and her family were missing tonight, but tomorrow they will be here as well and we will hit 100 per cent. And that is a lot of cousins.
Tonight I have Ziggy, Jonah, and Sam for a sleepover. I’m still hoping that all of the Fab 5 will stay over with me tomorrow night, but Ollie and Coco still understandably vote for sleeping with momma and daddy.
by Judy Handley | Nov 21, 2017 | 2017 Life Logs |
2017 Life Logs, Day 325: Meeting Alligators and Cousins
Date: Tuesday, November 21, 2017
Weather: Another Beautiful Day; High 80, Low 60 degrees F
Location: At The Outrigger on Fort Myers Beach, FL
It was a great day from start to finish, with grandkids meeting alligators and cousins. No similarities, of course. We were up and away by 8:15 am and had a second breakfast in Naples at Epiphany Gluten-free Bakery. It was a fabulous find that we all enjoyed. Then it was on south to the Everglades to meet a few alligators.
We went to a place called Wooten’s and did their combo tour including a grassland airboat ride, a swamp buggy ride, and a tour of their animal sanctuary which includes an alligator show. The kids all got to hold baby alligators which was a highlight for them. The airboat ride was wild and something that will not be forgotten soon.
On our way back north, we stopped at Mary Ellen and Lee’s for an evening with family which gave our little ones a chance to meet a whole host of cousins they have never seen before. Our five are all under 10, and Mary Ellen and Lee’s grandsons range from 12 to 20. There is a big age difference, but by the end of the evening they were all really enjoying playing together in Lee and ME’s pool and hot tub, complete with bubbles.
We will continue the craziness here at The Outrigger tomorrow evening as most of Mark’s family are staying here so we can all be together. And there will be even more cousins to meet. It really was a wonderful day and I would love to write more, but right now I have two sleeping angels in my room, Sam and Jonah, and I need to turn off the lights so they can sleep peacefully. And early in the morning Heather and Jed, Justin and Jo, and the other grandkids will be here for breakfast. I need to get to bed so I will be ready for another day of family fun. That’s the most important thing.
by Judy Handley | Nov 20, 2017 | 2017 Life Logs |
2017 Life Logs, Day 324: All Together Now
Date: Monday, November 20, 2017
Weather: Beautiful Day on the Beach; High 80, Low 60 degrees F
Location: At The Outrigger on Fort Myers Beach, FL
Thankfully, there was no more craziness today. Justin, Jo, Ziggy, and Coco arrived at 3 am, so we are all together now. JJZ&C came over around 8 am for that group hug. I was soooooo happy to see them. They all look great and are happy to be here to visit with family and have a little relax time. They are amazed that you can’t tell a major hurricane hit here in September. Everything looks to be back to normal. And as we all know, that is not so in Puerto Rico. It is things like the fact that palm trees here still have palm fronds, whereas palm trees in Puerto Rico lost all of their fronds, that they are noticing. But they are happy for Florida and hopeful for Puerto Rico’s return to ‘normal’. We were all a bit exhausted today, so it was good that it was planned to be a laid-back day with lots of time for the grandkids to play together on the beach and in the pool. All of the kids were amazed by the sand here. It is very fine and is great for building castles and forts. All of the Fab Five enjoyed their time together, but Ollie and Coco, who are both five, truly bonded. Too cute for words. Adults stole away for naps here and there, Lee and daughters Michelle and Teresa came back to visit, and we ended the day with a taco dinner in my room. We are calling tomorrow Alligator Day. We are going south to the Everglades to go on an airboat ride to try and spot alligators in the wild and then on a swamp buggy tour of the swamp forest. We will end our day at Mary Ellen and Lee’s for a cookout. And then on Wednesday more family members arrive.
by Judy Handley | Nov 19, 2017 | 2017 Life Logs |
2017 Life Logs, Day 323: Craziness
Date: Sunday, November 19, 2017
Weather: AM Rainy, Windy; PM in Fort Myers Beach–Delightful
Location: At Home in The Studio, Falmouth, MA
This craziness in my life has just got to stop! The non-crazy part of my day was the trip from home to Fort Myers Beach. It was stormy this morning, but we were off and running on time. Actually, we were a little delayed by me as Sam, Jonah, and Ollie were in the van and ready to go when I arrived. But we were off and running in plenty of time for our 12:55 pm flight out of Boston. We had to change planes in Charlotte, but the Goldpebbles handled that just fine. They were absolutely wonderful travelers for the entire day. Once we arrived in Fort Myers, my brother-in-law Lee picked us up at the airport and delivered us to our hotel on Fort Myers Beach. The boys had a snack in Charlotte and another on the plane, but we all needed dinner when we got here. The allure of the pool on a warm Florida night was just too much, however. The pool won out and they didn’t have dinner until 9 when the pool closed, but they didn’t seem to mind. Sam is sleeping in my room tonight as Heather and Jed’s room is a little cramped with only two double beds. But I have offered to have all of the grandchildren sleep in my room every night if they want. So, I think things will work out just fine. Two of Lee’s daughters, Michelle and Teresa, arrived while I was checking everyone in, and they brought boxes of things for Justin and Jo that I had sent here from Amazon and bags of food necessities to get us through tomorrow morning. We all sat in the outside seating area and had a well-deserved drink while Jed played in the pool with the boys. Michelle and Teresa then took Lee home as he left his van for us to use for the week. They will come visit us on the beach tomorrow and we will continue our visiting. It is so wonderful to be here.
Now for the craziness. Justin and family are not here . . . yet. It is now midnight and in about 20 minutes they should land in Fort Lauderdale which is a two-hour drive from here. Their flight was delayed by five hours, but hopefully they will get here around three in the morning. They got to the San Juan airport early for their flight, but were notified almost immediately that their 5:30 pm flight was delayed until 10:30 pm. The plane that was to fly them from Puerto Rico to Florida was coming into San Juan and had a collision with what was reported to be a pelican. There was so much damage to the front of the plane that it had to be grounded. Another plane was sent from the mainland, but that takes time. I just couldn’t believe this happened to them. But hopefully I’ll get a text in just a few minutes announcing their arrival. Then they have the next hurdle. Their car rental reservation is with Enterprise. Just as they were getting ready for take-off in San Juan, Justin saw that Enterprise closes at 1 am. He was on the plane and they were already headed down the runway when I got the message to try and call Enterprise and help him come up with Plan B. Should have been easy, but I spent more than an hour trying to call the Enterprise number. Every time I would get through the automated question and answer routine, and then the call would drop. I thought it was my phone, so I tried Skype phone to phone from my computer. But I have not made a call to a phone via Skype for who knows how long and that part of my account had been deactivated. It is a long and frustrating story that I will spare you, but I finally gave up on Skype and I gave up on Enterprise. I called Budget and found their auto punch this number for that, etc., more than I could endure tonight. So, I called the next open 24-hour rental at the Fort Lauderdale airport which was Alamo. I got the nicest woman and she explained that they are a sister company to Enterprise and Justin can take his reservation there and they will honor it. Whew! I sent a message to Justin via WhatsApp and hopefully he will get it as soon as they land. I sure hope it works out and that we will finally have that group hug in the morning. Do other people have crazy things like this happen in their lives?
