we bid farewell (FINALLY!!!!!!!!!)

YES, the Wildwood Shore is beautiful .... but over the past few days with the Captain telling me about how he can't wait to come back & why don't we think about coming every other year for a few days .... yatta, yatta ... I cannot help but think about the 2 days Pa was tired & not at his best, then the 9 days I lost .. being totally sick, & the 4 days Pa lost being in the hospital- AND THE 6 days, 7 night stay here that turned into 20 days & yet overall- we only enjoyed 8 of them anyway!!!!!! It was an expensive, tiring, inconvenient (& did I mention expensive?) trip that was tough on all of us at one time or another!! FINALLY- we did get back into the swing of things for these last couple of days when we took one last stroll on the boardwalk (& the Captain took yet ANOTHER ferris wheel ride).

and then today, we hopped a ferry
and headed back to Virginia where our "over-vacationed" delay resulted in us being around long enough to see the newest member of the family. Marley Elizabeth Young.

& It means another great-great grandaughter fro Pa !!! Here's Allie & her precious (7#) daughter.

OMG CAPTAIN .... ANOTHER dozen donuts???

OK, OKAY .... in all fairness he actually gets them by the half dozen each time. But HE EATS ALL OF THEM ..... no, no, no ..... let me be more acurate - he is the only one that is eating any of the donuts but he doesn't eat the WHOLE donut. He eats the equivalent of 1/3 of the donute. THE PART WITH THE VANILLA CREAM IN IT!!!! What a goof. BUT, he ONLY does it when in "the East" so it is such a treat. NOW, the Dunkin Donut cashiers recognize him. "Yes sir, half dozen white cream coming up!" (can you believe it???)

gettin the ducks lined up for July 4th !!!

if I can't be home (where I wanna be) at least I can be thinking about what I'll do when I get there. Being the patriotic fam that we are ... my small but meaningful contribution this minute is to have my blog banner all ready to paste in !!!!! THANK GOD for our soldiers.

some times .... you GOTTA put it in print!!

TRUE friends can convince you that they got it ALL covered, & you are not to give the "situation" a 2nd thought. I got a few of those kind of friends in my life. (that makes me darn lucky!!) you ALL know who you are, but I may be reminding you more often for a while !!!!!!!!!!!!!

let's hear it for an "outing"

You have L-O-N-G been hearing faaaaaar too much about what is not going well lately so- we had a weee bit of a diversion today. Nothing major .... except that it somehow feels major compared to what we have been experiencing. EVEN as much as the Captain loves his Wildwood- he had to admit that he's in the mood to ride his motorcycle! (pet the kk's, feel the COOL marine layer. Maybe even mow the lawn!!!)
AND by diversion ..... I really mean we had some normalcy (?) to the day. We had a great night's sleep, which surely helped & ate some breakfast at the unit ..... leisurely heading over to the hospital for visiting hours. Once there- it was a wonderful relief to see Pops looking so good & even joking. ahhhhh We had some lunch with him and chatted .... accompanied him to his "regular" room (another ahhhh), visiting all the while. He was feeling good & ready to rumble. BUT ALAS, the docs want to keep him 2 more days for observation, since there is a BIG travel home. Disappointing, but understood. The captain then took me on a "date". On this trip, we really haven't spent any time together just enjoying each other's company. There has been some urgency on some level. BUT by early this evening, Pa was ready for some rest & the Captain had promised me a cow. By "cow", it means a real steak. Not strips, not chopped, not fried, not ground ..... but a REAL piece of meat. I crave it a couple times a month and I was ready. We asked the nursing staff for ideas & off we went to sight see a bit & then to the restaurant. We had a lovely glass of wine (my first in a month), crab chowder, salad & a WONDERFUL steak (all shared). It was perf. Eating here reminds me a bit of when my son went to Europe to play soccer. It's just, plain, different. Larger than necessary portions, no thousand island dressing, gravy on way too many things, fried, fried, fried and ice cream galore. There are areas of the island that are dry (no liquor stores), and others that have them on every corner. a LOT of restaurants are ALSO liquor stores. Ice cream parlors (& various donut shops) on every other corner. It is no wonder that I look slim here!!! (and a little pale too) Interesting .... but not my cup of tea. AND THE PICTURES ABOVE - are an example of how "busy" things tend to be decorated around here. Very cluttery, very eclectic (?). Kinda fun to look at, but it makes me tired- if that makes any sense. So- here I am, having returned to see Pa again & close out the visiting hours, then back to our hotel to wrap up a better-than-expected day with my hubby. Tomorrow morning, we will begin making what we hope will be the final travel arrangements, after having changed them twice already. 3rd times the charm??? I CERTAINLY hope so!!

rats ..... foiled again !! (AKA: not yet homeward bound)

so obviously ..... we are still here, without full understanding of how long or what comes next. It appears to not be critical .... but how close to "serious" it is, remainds to be explained. yooo hoooo Dr man .... inquiring minds want to know!!

last eve in Wildwood ....

Tomorrow is the "wind up" to destination Pismo. I sit here at the Lotus Inn, near the pool as the rain starts to thin. We had some thunder & lightening, then a great downpour that ended too soon for me ..... BUT, it shoo'd everyone indoors and it was me, my laptop (our clothes in the dryer of the laundry room), and the rain tapping rapidly in the pool surface. I loved it. Now, the sprinkles are barely audible & people are starting to peek from behind their doors, so I will likely take myself to more solitary confines before long. The Captain has just returned with the last of his white creme donut purchases. Hopefully, he has had his fill (?) of "authentic" philly cheese, frozen custard, & pork roll sandwiches for a while. Before too many days, he will be thinking about things he missed out on or will remember to check "next time". I think Pop has accomplished what he set out to do.... see old friends & places, that he may not be back to visit again, while he can still appreciate them. His gift to us was a lot of stories & rememberances of what happened here or what went on there. We stepped into his shoes to retrace the path he took when he would walk over to visit his "sweetheart" in the years before they married. We went to many of the places they went to as a couple ... even if the business (or even the building) no longer existed! It was a wonderful journey with him. Tomorrow- we will be taking the ferry, so we'll see what pictures I can come up with!

it was WELL WORTH waiting for.

With temps & humidity averaging far higher than we are used to at home ..... our semi-routine "happy hours" have been scarce (not to mention while I was under the weather) So water is consumed in great amounts. ALL 4 of these were the Captains!!

And as my flu continued to drag on .....I thought I might have to go home without my long-awaited east coast lobster dinner .... But you know the ole saying .... that good things come to those who wait??? THEY aren't kidding!! We went here: & I had this: Do I wish I could afford it more often .... YES! Do I appreciate it more because I don't ..... you betcha. Was it worth the wait..... without a doubt. (and I didn't even look at the price because I deserved it!!) thanks boys

where there's a will ..... there's a way (if the Captain has anything to say about it!)

OK PA .... the rule is ... if you don't "want" to go out onto the beach .... you say so. Cuz if you say you "can't" ...... the Captain will do his darnedest to prove you wrong!! MUCH to the joy of both of these guys, the balloon-tired wheelchair was even easier to maneuver than a regular one!

It's even made to pull partly into the water so Pa got to splash a bit to cool off (THAT was a must in the 92 degree sun!!!) They were like a couple of little kids!! (yay)

America's Boardwalk ...... but of course

I'm not one for crowds. not big on loud music. not a fan of people acting (or looking) silly. I can do without most "midway" type food. I don't go on ferris wheels or roller coasters. carnival-type games are a waste of money. so, you ask, what's the point of even going to the Boardwalk at all ? ...... why, to take pictures of course !!

do forgive me ... I am still finding melted parts of things in my brain!!!

in my anguished delirium, I had some double vision, I had some moments where my brain was obsessed on the lyric of a song, or a commercial punch line. I lost track of time .... all sorts of unpleasantness, SO IT BUGS THE CRAP OUT OF ME (and disappoints me greatly) that during all of that .... I also missed out on special entries I would have posted for Addy's official Bday, Father's Day, & the Hui's Anniversary #2. I had ideas, I had thoughts, I had creative juices ..... so, even though this is waaaay out of order, I loved it (and you should too).

The guys kept busy ... but didn't take pictures !!

I AM THE PICTURE TAKER .... the Captain doesn't even think about doing it unless I hand him the camera .... therefore, it's likely that if I wasn't around .... there would be no record of what went on! It also means that I'm not in many pictures! HA (stratedgy)
The first few days turned out to be the coolest days. Since I was tucked away for most of them .... I only knew what I could read on the thermometer. TODAY- it was 92 and felt every degree of it. THANK GOODNESS for A/C ! Reminds me of Bakersfield .... even down to the low humidity. It could have been worse (it often is).
We're pleased that the evening brings a cool down (to the kind of high's we have at home!!!) .... it allows us to open the bedroom slider wide so we can hear the ocean since it's right across the street!!! The waves here on the east coast are rollers .... constant. They don't crash like ours at home.

I must be special, they got me in without a reservation!

let me make this short & sweet (?) .... I figured it was the flu. started the same as it usually does (for me) but lingered .... The headache that usually starts fading as the throne-hugging winds down lingered. Even once I started nibbling & tried Motrin, Tyleno, & hydro-codone .... the headache pounded. no sleep, no rest, no sunlight, no noise, no relief. 'TO THE DR' says the Captain. Blood tests, & my explanation of symptoms repeated (over & over) dehydrated to be sure. Started on Gatorade cut 50% with water .... cuz I didn't like anything sweet or salty. Drink, drink, drink. Called back into the Dr's office for results, then sent directly to the hospital. Hook me up to a drip ..... ahhhhhhhh, the first sleep in days!!
Fortunately, I had pushed the boys out the door almost every day so they would be doing some of what they came to do. BUT, they hovered & worried & used lots of excuses to come home & check on me too.

PA to Hershey without gaining a pound (impossible?)

Neither the Captain nor I had ever been to Hershey before - and a LOT had changed since Pa was here last. They now have a whole theme park. Pop was tired, so a quick "looksee" was all Pa cared to have ..... then to the hotel for a nap. The Captain & I didn't have time for tours, but we did get around for a few pictures & Hershey ice cream (with syrups of course) for lunch !! There was a lot of info & we even got some ega-mi-katin' about candy!!

LIFE WAS CANCELLED due to H1N1 (?)

Go on vacation & 1 week into it (when it's really starting to allow relaxation) and contract a bug .... now THAT is the way to enjoy your time!! As you will see from the subsequent postings, I will catch you up for the most part. The fact of the matter is- when you lose a few days to illness, you just ..... lose 'em. SO, I will get you up to speed as much as I plan to over the next hour or so, by posting scrapped pages in clusters. MOST of these will be part of the reminisce book I am making after we get home. There will be much in there that is NOT included on the blog as well. But for the few, but mighty who do tune in to check out my ponderings ...... it will bring you up to speed :o)
p.s. thank you to all of you who contacted me or the Captain wondering "wassup?" XOXO

Bye Bye Pittsburgh !!

and so we bid farewell to the city of bridges ......

ALOHA Cranberry (?)

time to put Cranberry behind us & head out for the next adventure !

this is the devil !! (and a source of laughter)

lately ..... we have been thinking that this was invented by the devil (or a comedian). We have taken soooo many wrong turns lately. It has given NEW MEANING to "the scenic route"

WOW .... or as pop now says ..... "wow" !!

TODAY's excusion found us at "the incline". THIS is where you go for the most amazing view of Pittsburgh (and a breeze) It was not only breath taking .... but it was the perfect way to really understand why this is called the City of Bridges.

After yesterday's rain .... we were surprised to wake up to such clear skies. It was a gorgeous day!

and then we found Bruster's!!!

life's short ..... so today, we practiced what we sometimes preach .... we ate dessert first!!!

and it was gooood. I hope to do it again soon.

PS (I had cherry vanilla & peach)

this one's for you LouLou (and me too)

My sissy just loves new ideas for her cocktails. These look like some pretty good ones to me. AND BEING the generous person that I am ...... I am willing to be her guinea pig :o)

every day involves gooooood food (dogonit)

PA WAS IN BEER HEAVEN TODAY !! He figured he had not had this brand of beer in decades & yet ..... remembered it was good stuff at the time - so he confirmed his "memory" by checking one out (and loving it) ..... I, on the other hand, managed to put a dent in a spinach/artichoke/parmesan pizza.

Later in the day we picked up an old friend of mom's (since Jr Hi) & took her with us to a restaurant that she & mom had been to a few times. It was wonderful. great selection and best of all- every fruit, veggie, & spice used in their recipes is grown on their own property. Specials change based on what is growing in the back yard you might say!! We ate so well, we were stuffed- THEN we looked at the dessert menu. Last I heard, we were planning on going there tomorrow to have dessert for lunch. (ooooooooooh).

I think I was supposed to turn left at Pittsburgh??

The day started out as planned. a trip to Starbucks to document our stay here. But somehow .... even with our GPS plugged in, we must have taken a wrong turn or two, cuz we ended up on Mars ??

YOU MAY THINK I'm kidding, & in fact- I half expected you would have that reaction. Therefore ..... I felt it was important to document it!!

The travel agency must come in handy (?)

Having a local Bank for exchanging currency must save on rocket (or saucer) fuel too.

I wonder if I can get this model with a navigation system & in pink??

my obsessive (cutie-pie) Captain

My eyes are getting tired from "rolling" this morning. The Captain started looking up what tunnels we will passing thru in the next couple of days. He's learning all about them. statistics, parameters, origins, designs, names .... and now (insert eye roll here) he is logging the lat/lon co-ordinates into the GPS so he will know when we are approaching them!! THAT my friends, is typical of the Captain. THAT is the way his brain works. THAT is a passion of his .... knowledge. THAT is just one more of the reasons I am crazy about him!! He's nuts & he drives me nuts. He's funny & he's a little "funny". He's compulsive at times and sometimes...... I am soooooo appreciative when he is.

BOTTOM LINE to all of this ....... he is mine and I am VERY happy & proud that he is!! ILY Captain. xo

there is ABSOLUTELY no way I can!!!!

seriously .... I really can NOT. I'm being totally honest about this ...... & I am sure at this point you are thinking ..... "what the heck am I talking about" ???!! I took sooooooooooooo many pictures today that even though I have already done some sorting & discarding .... there is too much to say & too much to co-ordinate with them to get them into a single blog. SO- much of it will be put together for our "East Coast" road trip book that I will work on in the next few weeks (right after I do the LUCO book I promised to a new mama.)

so I decided to post these 2 odd pics & explain ..... The first one refers to good ole Bakersfield where I am from (and proud of it) cuz we have all sorts of nicknames for it. Often just Bako, but also Bakersbutt. As soon as I saw this sign .... it made me think of my hometown. THEN, I got a kick out of the writing on the truck we were following. Mushroom manure. I'm sure on some level, I knew it existed- but I can't say that I have given it conscious thought. Funnier yet ..... when I first glanced at the truck- I thought the print at the far right said GRAVE mulch !!! Since we had just left a cemetary ... maybe my mind was ....... well you get my drift.

boo hoo hoo - feeling left out!!

after our travels yesterday ... I was feeling soooo overlooked!

THESE are not even a fraction of those who were mentioned. Leaving any mention of the princess or DeDe totally out!!!

We came across Willard way, Kenny Lane, Ashley Ave, Chris Crossing, & a few other Irwin "whatevers".


wassup up wid dat?!!

just ONE eeensy-weensy highlite of today's travels

THIS was a lovely little spot that we ALMOST passed. The Captain, with all his patience, stopped more than once for my Kodak "whims".

Unfortunately, the mill is only open on weekends, so we missed out on seeing the 22' wheel that was inside the main building. Oh well ... our next stop could be even more picturesque??!!!

The weather was perfect

.... no sweatin'

VA 2 PA ...... and tomorrow? who knows !!

hit the road Jack (Captain)

Today's itinerary takes us from this scenery in Virginia ..... to Pennsyvania! I'll see what I can "snap" to picture our journey for the blog!!
I find the architecture in this area to be comforting- if that's possible for a building. Every house (even the mansion-esque ones) look "homey". EVEN a home that's a little run down ... appears shabby-chic!!

and I LOVE the fact that you see soooooooo many flags flying at private residences! YAY

& this is scenery I hope to see (and experience) again real soon.