by Judy Handley | Feb 23, 2014 | Cape Cod USA, Sailing Logs Year 9 |
Day 126, Year 9: Goldpebbles Rock
Date: Sunday, February 23, 2014
Weather: Mostly Sunny Today, High in the 40’s F
Location: Brewer Fiddler’s Cove Marina, North Falmouth, Massachusetts
Mark and I spent the day on Windbird. I continued to work on my computer on a photo project and Mark installed a new solenoid switch in our propane gas system. Then mid-afternoon we headed into town to pick up some fresh oysters from Mark’s friend Sue at West Marine, and then we went on to Heather and Jed’s for dinner. Since tomorrow Mark is headed to Boston for the week for his radiation-chemo treatments, Heather fixed a power meal for him. I fixed organic beef liver and onions for him last night and she roasted a Martha’s Vineyard organic, free range chicken and had organic beets and beet greens with Yukon Gold mashed potatoes today. This is the meal I always fix for him on the night before he has a chemo treatment. I don’t even know if Heather knew this or if it was just a coincidence, but the choice was just perfect. And the grilled oysters added just the perfect touch. We have found that this type of ‘comfort’ food keeps Mark on an even keel when the meds kick in. We have no idea if he is just super resistant or whether the organic meat, beets, and greens help, but whatever, this diet has kept him energetic and kept his blood counts up throughout the chemo treatments. So we’ll stick to this regimen and hope for continued positive results.
Tomorrow morning I will drive Mark to Boston and stay with him throughout the day. At 11 am we meet with his oncologist and then at 2 pm he has his first radiation treatment. At 3 pm we will meet with his radiologist and then we will head to Sue and John Reed’s home. Sue and John are Jed’s aunt and uncle and throughout Mark’s ‘health’ visits at Mass General, they have opened their home to us. I need to be here on the Cape to continue child care for Ollie during the week (except for Mondays), so Mark is going to start out by staying with Sue and John during the week and then returning home on Fridays. He’s making a mid-week trip home on Wednesday of this week to do inventory at West Marine on Wednesday evening and will then drive back to Boston with Heather on Thursday. Then Ollie and I will drive up on Friday to get him. Mark can take the T all the way out of town and meet us on the outskirts of Boston so we won’t have to deal with traffic. Mark will be taking an oral chemo drug during these radiation treatments, but his doctors have been confident that he should be just fine. There are all sorts of side effects that are possible, but they are convinced, based on past performance, that he will be able to function fairly normally throughout the treatments. He will just need more rest than normal. Let’s hope they are right.
Now to the ‘Goldpebbles Rock’ part of this log. After dinner tonight, Sam and Jonah decided to put on a show for us. They disappeared and returned with an empty plastic toy bin with a sign on it saying, “Rock Baned” (Sam’s spelling). Jonah and Ollie also made signs that they proudly displayed and then the music started–Ollie on harmonica, Jonah on bells, and Sam on drums. Jonah is normally the music man, but tonight Sam played the plastic toy bin and cymbals like a pro. He has fantastic rhythm that we haven’t seen him display before. And Jonah watched every move Sam made and kept time with the bells—very impressive and great fun.
by Judy Handley | Feb 22, 2014 | Cape Cod USA, Sailing Logs Year 9 |
Day 125, Year 9: Quiet Day on Windbird
Date: Saturday, February 22, 2014
Weather: Clearing Overnight; Mostly Sunny Today, High in the 40’s F
Location: Brewer Fiddler’s Cove Marina, North Falmouth, Massachusetts
It was a quiet day here on Windbird. We got up late, had breakfast, and went for a long walk. I worked on a photo project this afternoon and Mark went into town to do some food shopping. We spent a good deal of time thinking about and planning for Mark’s upcoming radiation/chemo treatments in Boston which begin this Monday. The weather was pleasant today, but we read that cold weather is returning in a couple of days. Mark was going to try to come home mid-week for one night, but snow is forecast for Wednesday, so he’s going to stay the whole week and return on Friday afternoon. It sure will be lonely here without him.
by Judy Handley | Feb 21, 2014 | Cape Cod USA, Sailing Logs Year 9 |
Day 124, Year 9: Trip to Boston
Date: Friday, February 21, 2014
Weather: Rain Overnight; Overcast and Foggy Day; Rainstorm Late Evening
Location: Brewer Fiddler’s Cove Marina, North Falmouth, Massachusetts
There was every indication this morning that today was going to be wet and miserable. Mark had to go to Boston for a trial run of his radiation treatments that begin on Monday, so I decided to go with Mark and to take Sam, Jonah, and Ollie along as well. I figured it was a perfect day to do to the New England Aquarium. With all of the snorkeling that we did in Culebra, this seemed like a most fitting follow-up and a good rainy day diversion. We had mentioned the idea to Sam and Jonah yesterday, and when we arrived this morning, they were both enthusiastic about going. So off we went. Mark dropped us off at the aquarium and the three boys and I headed inside. As we did so, I had a moment of hesitation about dealing with all three boys by myself, but I reminded myself that for years I handled 25 kindergarteners or first graders every day so surely I could handle three little boys for a couple of hours. Lucky for me, all three boys were unbelievably cooperative. After we got inside, I went over the ground rules and I never had to say another word to them. They stayed right with me all the time, and Sam and Jonah were so helpful with Ollie. He was in “big boy” mode and wanted to do everything just like his brothers, so I let him and he was perfectly behaved. I went over the aquarium schedule of activities with Sam and Jonah and let them choose what they wanted to do and off we went. We watched the penguins for a bit and then walked round and round the central fish tank to the top in time to see the divers do the 11:15 am feeding. We then walked round and round to get back down to the first floor, stopping to watch the divers swimming with the turtles and rays and fish along the way. Every time Ollie spotted a diver he would scream out, “Divees!” We then went to see the IMAX 3-D movie, Journey to the South Pacific. It was not the most exciting IMAX movie I have ever seen, but the boys loved it—especially the part where a thirteen year-old boy hand fed whale sharks. Mark met us after the movie and we went back to the aquarium to show Granddad some of our favorite things. But there were at least twice the number of people in the aquarium as there had been earlier in the morning. The line to get lunch looked like a line at Disney World during school vacation, so we agreed to visit the penguins (‘pengees’ in Olliese) one more time and head to Quincy Market for lunch. It was a short visit, but probably just the right amount of time for our crew. By the time we walked to Quincy Market and had lunch, Ollie was definitely ready for a nap, so he slept all the way home. Seeing all of the beautiful reef fish in the tank today gave me extra incentive to look through the underwater photos we took during the past week and put together a “Best of Underwater Culebra” collection. I have barely had a chance to see any of them, so that will be my goal for this weekend.
by Judy Handley | Feb 20, 2014 | Cape Cod USA, Sailing Logs Year 9 |
Day 123, Year 9: Back to Normal (whatever this is)
Date: Thursday, February 20, 2014
Weather: Mostly Sunny, Snow is Melting
Location: Brewer Fiddler’s Cove Marina, North Falmouth, Massachusetts
Today we were fully back to normal. Heather and Jed had to go to work, so Mark and I headed over to take care of all three boys. This is school vacation week here so Sam and Jonah were home, as well as Ollie. I did piles of laundry and actually convinced the ‘big’ boys to take an afternoon nap since they certainly didn’t get a full night’s sleep. It was sunny out today, but we miss that Puerto Rico warmth. Wonderful memories . . .
by Judy Handley | Feb 19, 2014 | Cape Cod USA, Sailing Logs Year 9 |
Day 122, Year 9: San Juan to Cape Cod
Date: Wednesday, February 19, 2014
Weather: Rain Overnight and Early Morning, Then Sunny
Location: Back Home on Windbird
The short story . . . It is 3 am on Thursday morning and we just got home. Our flight from San Juan to Philadelphia went without a hitch, but as soon as we arrived in Philadelphia, we could see that the US Airways Philadelphia to Boston flights were not running on time. Our flight was not scheduled to leave until 8:15 pm, but it was delayed two hours due to fuel issues—whatever that means. We boarded, waited and waited, and then got back off the plane and boarded a different plane on a different concourse. It was 10:15 pm by the time we took off. Then when we arrived in Boston, we had to wait for the shuttle bus back to the hotel to pick up the van and then drive home. Waiting for us at Heather and Jed’s house was our car piled with snow. How rude. But Jed helped shovel enough snow for us to drive out while Heather got the three boys into bed. It was a VERY LONG day for them but they were troopers all the way. Heather is supposed to drive back to Boston tomorrow for work and Jed needs to go into work tomorrow afternoon, so the vacation is over!
The longer story . . . We had the whole morning to play in Old San Juan. Justin and Jo got up early and to make it to Jo’s 8 am appointment at Immigration. The rest of us got up between 7 and 8 and walked just down the street to a breakfast café on the Colon Plaza. We then walked just another block to the San Cristobal Fort. It rained while we were in the café, but then it cleared and was a beautiful morning. Fort San Cristobal is part of the US National Park system, so Mark bought a life-long pass for Seniors and everyone else got in free as his guests. The fort was very interesting and Sam and Jonah really enjoyed it. It was a great way to end our trip to Puerto Rico.
by Judy Handley | Feb 18, 2014 | Cape Cod USA, Sailing Logs Year 9 |
Day 121, Year 9: Old San Juan
Date: Tuesday, February 18, 2014
Weather: Mostly Sunny at Sea Level with Dark Clouds Hanging Over the Mountains
Location: Da House Hotel and Gallery, 312 San Francisco Street, Old San Juan
Our morning was spent packing and at 12 noon we said goodbye to Justin and Jo’s Casa Chalet and all piled into a van that would take us to the ferry. As we pulled out of the harbor I almost shed a tear. Mark and I have really enjoyed the week with our whole family together and the warm weather and beautiful setting have made the stay just perfect. We arrived in Fajardo just after 2 pm. Mark, Justin, Jo, and kids walked a block or so from the ferry terminal to World Car Rental and rented a car to drive to San Juan while Heather, Jed, and boys, along with myself, got into a taxi van and headed to the Da House Hotel and Gallery in Old San Juan. We all arrived at about the same time and explored this neat little hotel. It is in the heart of Old San Juan and their description on the internet sums it up perfectly. “Da House is the urban-latino pronunciation of ‘The House’, with the emphasis on ‘the’, ‘the one’, ‘the space where it is happening’. . . We offer clean, comfortable, eclectic accommodations in a friendly, vibrant setting that is reminiscent of the character of hostals in great European cities like Amsterdam, Paris or Barcelona.” We are on the third floor and there is no elevator, so all that luggage did have to be carried up the stairs. But other than that inconvenience, the price of $80 per room seems like the deal of the year. The normal cost is $118 but Jo has connections through a friend and gets the lower price. There is a balcony on the fourth floor for outside enjoyment and a huge lounge with wifi on the second floor. The ceilings are high, the floors are tiled, and the tall, thin windows are shuttered. The downside is that each room just has one large bed. So tonight Sam is sleeping with us and Ollie is sleeping on two large padded chairs pulled together to make a bed. We’ll make it just fine.
Old San Juan is so delightful. As we drove in we passed the impressive El Capitolio de Puerto Rico and Castillo de San Cristobal, a fort on the seaside of the capital. We then entered the walled city of Old San Juan which sits on a hill. The views are phenomenal, the architecture old but immaculately kept, and after checking into the hotel we headed to the San Juan Gate and walked outside the wall along the water. For three centuries, beginning in the 1500’s, the San Juan Gate is where you would have entered the city if you were a dignitary. The current Governor’s compound is just to your left as you enter the gate. One of the first things you notice as you walk along the wall are the garritas or sentinel posts. These are round turrets located at every corner on the top of the wall. I really wasn’t prepared for visiting here as I have done no research and no virtually none of the history other than Columbus discovered this island for the Spanish in 1493 and that somehow it became a territory of the United States after the Spanish-American War at the turn of the twentieth century. Hopefully I will know more before we leave here tomorrow.
Justin, Jo, and kids will be up early to head back into San Juan to the Immigration headquarters. Jo has an appointment to get her Green Card documentation done. When their van burned this past summer in England, her card was melted. So tomorrow’s appointment should get the card reinstated for her. The rest of us will explore Old San Juan until we have to head to the airport. It looks like we will be returning home during a warm spell after the recent storms. Warmer weather means rain, but at least it is not ice and snow! I don’t think I could bear that right off the bat after experiencing the wonderfully warm weather here.
