03/05/09 to 03/14/09

03/05/09 to 03/14/09 We’ve done some land travel in the last week and a half. Had to go home to PA for medical and dental appointments, getting income tax info together, etc., so we rented a car and set out from Fort Myers at 4 AM on March 5. By about 5 PM, we arrived at the home of friends and fellow Loopers Gary and Judy in Tabor City, NC. We spent the evening catching up on events, including Gary’s recent knee surgery, but it was early to bed and early to rise for Thursday’s travel (thank you both for getting up to see us off at 4 AM, Gary and Judy). By early afternoon, we entered PA, and went to our daughter Barb’s home for a quick visit. Then it was onward to daughter Becky, who had venison steaks ready for supper. Another short drive on the PA turnpike and we were at our own home, which looked pretty good to us.
The first weekend in March was beautiful at home–sunny and unexpectedly warm. The ground was soggy, though, so we waited until later in the week to work in the flower beds and do other outdoor chores. Throughout the week, we went to our appointments, including a couple of extras when Bob experienced severe back pain one morning. One evening, our family held our early spring birthday get-together for the five of us with March and April birthdays (Katie, Bobby, Becky, Barb, Lois). Lois had already had her free birthday dinner at Shady Maple smorgasbord earlier in the week.
On Sunday, March 15, we started southward again, stopping in Brunswick, GA, for the night. Unfortunately, we forgot about the shuttle launch scheduled for that evening or we might have driven for another hour to try to see it. Monday was a more leisurely day. We had time to make a couple stops, one at Don’s Boat Salvage near Clearwater, another at the Clearwater Marina to see if any boaters we knew were there. Then we met our friends Michael and Anne Marie, who were near Clearwater vacationing with some of Anne’s family. Bob and Michael worked together at Koch/Plains in Schaefferstown. When we got on the road again, it was just a couple hours to Fort Myers and our home away from home.