Update on Things - From Washington, NC

Here we go again. Behind on posting news on the Blog. Too many things going on. Audrey's cataract surgery went well and she has been released from the doctor's care. After her release we visited with the kids in Pinehurst for the start of the Labor Day weekend. We arrived on Thursday and departed for the home front on Sunday. While there the biggest news was the purchase of a new computer for Audrey. Her MacBook died and so it was necessary to get a new one. Our son-in-law, Ken, and I journeyed to Fayetteville and made the purchase at a Best Buy. The pictures show the happy new owner.

While in Pinehurst we celebrated the birthdays of Ken and Audrey. Note the happy birthday faces in the picture.

The bicycle pictures are of our daughter Cindy and some of her teammates taken at a recent competition in Arizona. Cindy is the athlete on the left in the group picture.

Some of you know we had planned to take the coach to TT Chesapeake Bay, VA for 3 weeks. Those plans have changed. Audrey had to schedule two doctor appointments and the dates available came during our pending stay at TTCB. So the trip to VA has been scratched. Also, within the last 2 weeks we've put some dollars into the coach. The two front tires were beginning to show signs of deterioration so we replaced them. Then earlier this week we had the coach serviced at a local truck service center. We had never used the center before but wish we had. The thoroughness with which they did the work was impressive. Better than any Cummins Service Center where we've had the coach serviced in the past. Also the price was right - $78/hr.

In the past we've spoken of and posted pictures of the family that is nearby - NC & PA. We have also spoken about our daughter, Cindy, who lives in AZ and teaches high school chemistry. However, you have not had a chance to see her and learn about her athletic achievements. Currently she is the AZ State Road Bike Time Trial Champion in her age group. In the past she has qualified for and comleted the king of all triathlons -- the Ironman Triathlon in Hawaii. The below link will take you to the AZ State Team Time Trial Championships. You will find Cindy riding the bike with yellow rims/tires.

http://gallery.me.com/cynthiapool#100088

What's next on our travel adventures? We don't really know what the future will hold beyond trips to Pinehurst, NC and to PA to visit with family, including two aunts each who has passed the 90 year old milestone. No trip is planned using the motor coach until November.

A long Overdue Update - from Washington

View the Slideshows in the right panel. Click on it.

It's been some time since our last posting but that's because life has been somewhat mundane. That is to say we've been hanging out at the house in Washington trying to survive the heat and humidity. While here it's been the usual sort of thing when one has a house - yard work and more yard work. Audrey and I have been doing a fair amount of bike riding. Audrey takes off in the early a.m. and rides a route through numerous nearby developments. She has also ventured toward Washington and the local bike shop to meet me after I've ridden with a group of local cyclists - Saturday rides. This past Saturday was a killer with heat and humidity and a pace over 25 miles that averaged 18.5 mph. It was a punishing ride.

Last Wednesday (August 6) we left the house early (5:00 a.m.) and headed for the Outer Banks. It had been many years since I'd been to the OBX. Audrey has been there more recently than I. The drive from Washington took 2 hours and 15 minutes. We arrived in Nags Head a little earlier than we had anticipated. We hung out in an Arby's before calling our two oldest grandsons - Joey from AZ and David from MD - who were on vacation with their girlfriends and their dad, Mack. When we were sure they were up and about, off we went to their condo. The nicely tanned vacationers were awaiting us (minus Mack who had gone to play golf) when we arrived. After "hugs" all around we followed them to a restaurant called "Stack 'em' High" (aptly described it) - the food was plentiful and very good at a reasonable price - where we sat and talked for quite awhile. It was so good seeing them all - a rare treat these days.

The above picture shows Audrey, Joey, Bonnie (Joey's girl friend), Bonnie (David's girl friend) and David.

Audrey shared the following with family in an e-mail about the visit including the picture link.
http://tinyurl.com/6zmdud

Above site contains pictures taken on the outer banks of North Carolin in Nags Head on August 6. Pictured are: our grandsons Joey and David Carpenter and their girlfriends Krystal and Bonnie. Think you can pick out the proud grandparents also. We had a really nice breakfast and visit with them while they were on vacation, David and Krystal from Tuscan AZ and David and Bonnie from Westminster MD. All enjoying the sun and fun before returning home to go back to school and work.

After a nice visit with Joey and David we spent the rest of the day with Audrey's brother (from PA) and his three children and their families, including two Labrador retrievers. They have a real gang. To get to their place (beautiful house on the beach where they were staying - check it out: http://tinyurl.com/6a7ncw - we had to drive about 30 miles north on highway 12. We met Jerry (Audrey's brother) and his wife, Judy, in Corolla because we had a 6 mile beach ride to get to their rental house. Jerry drove his grandson's 4 wheel drive Cherokee to get us there. What a trip. We saw numerous vehicles being towed as a consequence of getting stuck - $100 a tow. When we arrived, we found most of the gang on the beach. The weather was picture perfect that day and the seas calm. It was so good seeing them all.

Check out the following for pictures taken during the visit:

http://tinyurl.com/64sguz

What a nice day we had.

The next happening was this weekend when our daughter, Denise, and 2 of her 3 children, Samantha and Connor, and Snowball and Mia their two dogs, came for a visit here in Washington. They arrived about 4:30 Thursday afternoon and headed back to Mechanicsburg, PA yesterday (Monday, August 11). We had a great time just doing simple things like shopping in Greenville, visiting the local farmers market and most evenings heading to nearby ice cream shops.

The Return to Pinehurst

Ok, so everyone thinks we're in a rut. Really we're not. Once again we're in Pinehurst and will be for almost a week. Our son-in-law, Ken, is in Scotland for a week. Yes, you're right. He's there, with his dad and friends, playing golf. He'll return on Saturday. In the meantime we are here to help Dawn with the girls. We arrived on Thursday and have been going strong ever since. Audrey has had appointments with a cardiologist and endocrinologist to have medical check-ups she should have had years ago. She has been on thyroid (thyroid removed) and cardiac (tachycardia) medication for many years, but has not had a check-up for far too long. She had the first round of tests on Friday and all was fine. There is one more test coming up on Tuesday - the usual stress test.

While here we celebrated Audrey's cousin's (John) 65th birthday. John and his wife, Linda, live here in Pinehurst and last evening (Saturday) Linda had a surprise party for John. Audrey, Bailey and I went to the party while Dawn and the other two girls stayed at home to video chat with Ken from Scotland. Technology is wonderful.

For those of you who know anything about Pinehurst and golf know that one of the nicest golf clubs in the east is the Country Club of North Carolina (CCNC). Well that is where the party was held and what is really special is that John and Linda's son, Paul, is the head chef at CCNC. You know we received special attention at the party and certainly ate well. I have attached a few pictures of the event to the post. If any one is interested, more pictures can be found at the below link.

http://tinyurl.com/55nxsd

Today has been a day of rest and relaxation. Audrey went for an early bike ride with the girls while I rode alone on a 12 mile ride before the temperature rose to the mid-90s. Right now the gang of gals are at the local fitness center swimming.

Here is news for all the geeks who read this post. Yesterday was a day from hell as I tried to up date my iPhone to the latest software from Apple - for the second time. In the end the effort was a success but to reach that point, I was on the telephone with tech support from Apple for almost 3 hours. Was the time well spent? Was the effort frustrating? You bet! The new software makes the iPhone unique in the world of smartphones. Right now I am listening to a radio broadcast of music from the 60s -- the song "Wild Thing" by the Troggs (you remember that song, right?). Now "Who Wrote the Book of Love" is playing by the Monotones. It doesn't get any better!

That's it from here in Pinehurst. Stay tuned for future updates from who knows where.