by Judy Handley | Jul 16, 2013 | Cape Cod, USA, Sailing Logs Year 8 |
Day 255, Year 8: Camp Oma, Week 3—Beach Explorations
Date: Tuesday, July 16, 2013
Weather: Still Sunny and Hotter!!! High 80’s into the Evening
Location: Eel Pond, Woods Hole, Massachusetts
Wow! The weather is really the topic of conversation these days. Even here on the Cape, it is really hot. So we took advantage of that, and spent our day in and on the water. I met Sam and Jonah in town for their fresh water pond swim lessons, and then we headed to Wood Neck Beach on the Buzzards Bay side about half way between Falmouth and Woods Hole. Wood Neck is special because it has beach and salt marsh for exploration. We thought we were going to explore the salt marsh with the Buzzards Bay Discovery Center. But they changed the program and today was beach exploration day. They’ll do the salt marsh in two weeks, so we will return then. Jonah and Sam both like Katie who works at the center, and she was our guide today. She had on a pink t-shirt, so Jonah called her the ‘lady in pink’. We were first sent out to find things that were red, blue, green, and yellow. Jonah found a discarded blue crab with wonderful blue crab claws. He was very proud and ran to show his find to Katie. And then we found a discarded balloon displaying red, blue, green, and yellow—not natural, but a good lesson in what should not be found on the beach. The next challenge was to find different shapes and textures, as well as additional colors. It was great fun and walking at the water’s edge kept us cool. After the beach exploration, we headed out on our own to explore the salt marsh. Tide was coming in and we waded with the tide observing hundreds of small fish and lots of green crabs. The boys could have stayed all day, but I had to get them back to Woods Hole so we could take Windbird to Falmouth Harbor. We needed fuel, water, and a pump out, so off we went. At the end of the day, we motored back into Eel Pond to find Heather, Jed, and Ollie on the shore waving to us. When we took Sam and Jonah to shore, Ollie insisted on getting in the dinghy. He loves to pretend he is driving. We got him out by promising a dinghy ride tomorrow. It was a good day, but the heat got to both Mark and I. And that is unusual. We both love hot weather, but we are exhausted tonight. So it is going to be an early turn in for both of us so we will be ready for tomorrow’s adventures.
by Judy Handley | Jul 15, 2013 | Cape Cod, USA, Sailing Logs Year 8 |
Day 254, Year 8: Day Trip to Boston
Date: Monday, July 15, 2013
Weather: Sunny and Hot!!! 90’s in Boston, 80’s on the Cape
Location: Eel Pond, Woods Hole, Massachusetts
Today was hot and it looks like it is just going to get hotter throughout the week. It was not the best day for a day trip to Boston, but we had no choice. Today was the day for Mark’s three-month check-up with his oncologist at Mass General, so off we went. I also had a follow-up appointment with Dr. Cha in the Spine Center. The air conditioner in our car is a bit like the refrigerator in our boat right now. They both work great when it is cooler, but both seem to shut down when the temp goes into the 80’s. So it was a hot, open window trip. My neck issues are fine right now, so I won’t need to return to the Spine Center until I have another episode and decide that want steroid injections or want to have surgery. I’m hoping to put both of those things off for as long as possible. Dr. Kwak, Mark’s oncologist, said that Mark’s blood work results are the best she’s seen in years. He had a CT scan in April and was not scheduled to have another until next April, but we explained that we would be more at ease leaving for the winter knowing all is well. Until just recently it was general practice to do the scans every three months for two years after surgery. They have just recently pulled back to once a year. But Dr. Kwak agreed that having the scan in October might not be a bad idea. If all is well then, Mark won’t have to fly home from Puerto Rico in January or South Carolina in April for blood tests. She gave us orders to take with us to have the blood tests done whenever we are and then have them sent to Mass General. So all of this was great news for us.
When we got back to the Cape, we headed to Heather and Jed’s to see the little ones and have dinner. When we arrived, Sam, Jonah, and Ollie were all sleeping or having quiet time in Sam’s case, so we left and went to the CVS at the corner to get some photos of my sister’s 80th birthday celebration printed to send to her. When we got back from doing that, Sam was up and ready to go outside. We went to the garden, which is in desperate need of more attention than any of us have time to give it, and accomplished a few things. The weeds are trying hard to take over despite Heather and Jed’s efforts to mulch in order to keep the weeds down. Sam helped Granddad string up the bean tower for climbing beans and Jonah helped by using small clippers to cut off the flowers on the arugula. Jonah always reminds me that his Grammie Goldstone taught him how to use garden clippers and assures me that he will be careful. And he is. But boys will be boys and the helpfulness didn’t last long. Sam found it to be much more fun to crawl through the ‘tunnels’ between the rows of corn. So we abandoned the gardening for this evening and went to swing and play baseball. Ollie woke up from a late afternoon nap just in time for dinner. We had grilled sausage and cauliflower with clams, orzo with basil from the garden, and a salad of lettuce and cucumbers, also from the garden. This was topped off with cold watermelon—the perfect desert choice for such a hot evening.
Tomorrow is a Camp Oma day. We start each day at a freshwater pond in town for swim lessons and then we will go to one of our favorite beaches, Wood Neck, for a swamp walk led by the Buzzards Bay Discovery Center staff. In the afternoon we really need to take Windbird to Falmouth to pump out the holding tank and fill up with water and fuel. So I have decided to chuck plans for an indoor library program and take the boys on a sail instead. There is not supposed to be much wind, so maybe we’ll put up the spinnaker. Sam has been dying to see it and tomorrow seems like the perfect time to do it.
by Judy Handley | Jul 14, 2013 | Cape Cod, USA, Sailing Logs Year 8 |
Day 253, Year 8: Back Home
Date: Sunday, July 14, 2013
Weather: Rain Early AM, Mostly Sunny and in the 70’s F in Woods Hole
Location: Eel Pond, Woods Hole, Massachusetts
The last week and a half has been a whirlwind of activity, but hopefully things will settle down a little now that I am back home aboard Windbird. The weekend in Charlotte with my family was just fantastic. I still have logs and photos that are only half done and not posted, but those will come. At least I got the photos from my sister’s Friday night celebration uploaded tonight, so those can be seen by family and friends. Tomorrow Mark and I head to Boston for Mark’s three-month check-up at Mass General and I have a follow-up appointment with Dr. Cha in the Spine Clinic about my neck. But right now, it is definitely time for bed. Mark worked every day while I was gone and we are both in need of a good night’s sleep. More tomorrow.
by Judy Handley | Jul 13, 2013 | Cape Cod, USA, Sailing Logs Year 8 |
Day 252, Year 8: Time with My Family
Date: Saturday, July 13, 2013
Weather in Charlotte, NC: Overcast and Drizzly, Temp High 60’s F
Location: Hampton Inn, Mooresville, NC
It was a fun day with my family. My two nieces here from Massachusetts, Lynn and Candi, and I are staying in the same suite at the Hampton Inn and we started our day by having breakfast downstairs with my sister Patsy and Joe, and other family members staying here. They have the best complimentary breakfast I have ever had, so we ate and lingered over cups of coffee just talking about life. Aunt Ethel is also staying at the Hampton, so she was with us. Her goal for the day was to go bargain hunting. When she was at my nephew Tommy’s house, a neighbor told her about the great deals at the Christian Ministry, so after breakfast we headed there. And indeed, they did have good deals. I got three summer shirts for $1 and Aunt Ethel bought an outfit that I would only wear in the Caribbean. Being 97 years old, almost 98, doesn’t stop her from wearing capri pants with bright red and pink flowers and a pink tank top. I asked her where she was going to wear this outfit and she said she would wear it to the grocery store and to work in the yard. She still cuts her own grass on her half acre lot and maintains all her various gardens. What a woman!
Our next stop was at my niece Jennifer’s home. She lives in Mooresville (where we are staying at the Hampton) and she wanted to show off her new wood floor in her living and dining rooms and the new tile floor in the kitchen. Her house is situated on a huge suburban lot and she has been working on her flower gardens and we enjoyed touring those as well. Then we drove about 25 minutes to Denver on the west side of Lake Norman to my nephew Tommy’s home. We had leftovers from the birthday celebration for dinner and spent the evening sitting in the garage catching up on what is happening in our lives. Tommy’s brother Todd is here with his family and the 20-something set had a few friends who sat with us through the evening. Tommy lives in a lovely home that has a beautiful deck with table and chairs, but instead of sitting there, we all gathered in the garage with the door open to the driveway. There’s a basketball net that kept the younger kids busy while we sat and talked. There’s never enough time to get all the visiting in that you would like when you are with family for a short time, but we used the time we had to best advantage. At some point, Tommy went inside and started playing the piano and we all gathered round . He then invited Aunt Ethel to play and we all enjoyed listening. It was so wonderful to get to spend the weekend with her. It was a time we will remember with great fondness.
by Judy Handley | Jul 12, 2013 | Cape Cod, USA, Sailing Logs Year 8 |
Day 251, Year 8: Fantastic 80th Birthday Celebration
Date: Friday, July 12, 2013
Weather in Charlotte, NC: Overcast, Temp in the 80’s F, Humid
Location: Hampton Inn, Mooresville, NC
What a fantastic 80th birthday celebration we had tonight for my sister Patsy. It was a complete surprise and that made it all the more fun. Patsy’s daughter Jennifer, who lives here in Mooresville, planned and executed this affair with the assistance of her sister Janet who lives in Ohio. Nephews pitched in to bring in equipment and deliver the food. And then we all gathered together for a wonderful evening, sharing stories about Patsy and looking at family photos from the past. Patsy was born in the depth of The Great Depression in 1933—the same year as Yoko Ono and Willie Nelson—not bad company. Patsy is ‘giver’ and it was obvious from the outpouring of love tonight that everyone who has ever known her appreciates that. She is wonderful wife, mother, grandmother, sister, sister-in-law, aunt, and friend. Patsy, we love you and thank you for all you have done for all of us throughout the years.
by Judy Handley | Jul 11, 2013 | Cape Cod, USA, Sailing Logs Year 8 |
Day 250, Year 8: Travel Day
Date: Thursday, July 11, 2013
Weather: Rain, Rain, Rain
Location: Hampton Inn, Mooresville, NC
Late last night the rain started and continued on through the morning as we drove north to Boston. So we had rain for our travel day as we left Woods Hole with a fully packed van—full of luggage and people. Mark was taking me, Justin and Jo, and all five grandchildren to Boston. He dropped me off at the airport to catch a flight to Charlotte, North Carolina, to attend my sister Patsy’s 80th birthday celebration. Since this party is a surprise, I won’t be posting this log until tomorrow night after the party is over. You can put something on the internet and expect it to be a secret! But back to Boston . . . After dropping me off, Mark then took the rest of the crew to the New England Aquarium for the day. They had a fantastic time and even worked in a ferry ride to Charlestown at the end of the day. Then Mark dropped JJZ&C off at the airport for their overnight flight to England and then he, Sam, and Jonah drove back home to the Cape. Mark stopped at IKEA on the way home and got dinner (IKEA meatballs) there for the boys. When they saw the IKEA sign on the way to Boston in the morning, they started chanting “lunch at IKEA” and that gave Mark the idea for the dinner stop. Granddad reported that he had a perfectly wonderful day—his first outing with the grandkids without me—and he already has plans for more outings without Oma.
My flight was delayed by two hours due to the storms in Charlotte and then was delayed another hour in the air because we had to divert to avoid a big storm system. Instead of arriving at 4:40 pm, we touched down at 5:45 pm and then it took another 40 minutes to get off the plane and get luggage. I had taken only a very small carry-on, but the plane was so full by the time my Zone was called to board that they took the bag which had to be picked up in the Baggage Claim area. What an ordeal, but finally my niece’s husband picked me up after what was a two-hour wait for him. Earlier in the day he picked up two of nieces who also flew in from Boston. So, thank you, Bill! We arrived at my nephew Tommy’s home just outside Charlotte in time for me to fix the family favorite, salmon cakes, for dinner. Tommy drove to Roanoke today to pick up our 97 year-old Aunt Ethel and Tommy’s brother Todd and his family arrived later in the evening from Atlanta. We looked at old photos and listened to some of Aunt Ethel’s stories. Aunt Ethel was married to my mother’s brother, so unfortunately none of us have her genes. She will be 98 in September, still wear high heels, and has more energy and a sharper mind than people half her age. What a wonderful gift to be able to be with her for this weekend.
Tomorrow evening, my sister Patsy and Joe will arrive thinking they are coming to hear Jennifer make a presentation and then go out for a special birthday dinner. Here’s hoping we can continue to keep this celebration a secret until tomorrow night.
