Naples, Florida

We are in Naples, Florida at the Naples Grande Beach Resort and life is good! Jim won an award at work and the prize was an all-expenses paid trip to this resort!

We left home early Wednesday morning (42 degrees) and arrived in sunny Florida five hours later (86 degrees!).

We spent Wednesday exploring the facilities and grounds of this resort area and it is soooo beautiful. In the evening there was a welcome reception for the 20 winners of this award and their guests. There are winners from around the country and Canada. The reception was held near one of the pools where the flowering trees and bushes are in full bloom and the gentle breeze kept us cool. We ate dinner at the hotel's steak house and had a great meal.

Today we took a taxi to a local bike store where we had reserved two road bikes for the rest of our stay. We rented really nice Specialized Bikes and were given some good info about good local biking routes, so off we went. We rode north, through Bonita Springs to Fort Myers, where we stopped for cold drinks and a sit-down rest at a local beach. We returned the way we came with an added stop at a state park on the Gulf coast. We rode back to the hotel where there are bike racks in the parking garage. We rode a total of 43 really flat miles! The only hills were where the road went over a bridge! It was a great ride, even though it was pretty hot by the time we got back.

Lunch was poolside and from there we walked the boardwalk to the beach area. Neither of us was interested in spending too much more time in the direct sun, so we took a quick swim in the
Gulf, and then walked back to the hotel pool where we did the water slide a few times. Love the water slide! Jim went for a quick run (because 43 miles on the bike was not enough exercise!) while I napped in the shade by the pool!

Tonight the whole group took a 2 hour dinner cruise out into the Gulf of Mexico. We had a nice meal on the boat and continue to enjoy making new friends with the other award winners. There was a nice sunset but the real eye candy during the cruise was all the multi-million dollar homes along the shoreline! Such opulence! Such extravagance! Living in one of those homes is a lifestyle I cannot even imagine, but it sure was fun to be amazed by these homes.

This trip was advertised as an "all-expenses paid" trip and we have not had to open our wallets for anything. We have been given a very generous daily food allowance as well as an activity allowance. We will use our activity money to rent kayaks and to get massages.

So tomorrow we will do more biking in the morning, to try to get some miles in before it really heats up, and then I am not sure what we will do in the afternoon. Tomorrow night is the awards dinner, where my shawl will make its debut!

Here are two photos. I would include more, but the technology is not working right this evening!




So that is all for now. Hope all is well, wherever you are.

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to my mother and mother-in-law! I am one lucky person to have you both in my life. Both my boys remembered me this day and I say "thank you " to both Tucker and Corey. Tucker called from Colorado and we had a nice chat. Jim and I stopped in to see Corey in Syracuse on our way home from Jenny Lake and he fed us lunch, including some warm, delicious, blueberry muffins that he made from scratch!
If you click Corey's photo, you can make it bigger and really see how nicely his mustache is coming in!

So we went to Jenny Lake this weekend to help Gram and GrandDad open camp for the season. Here is a photo story of our weekend. We awoke to a rainy Saturday morning, but during the first break from showers, Jim and GrandDad started the outside work, including putting in the dock.

Because there had been some construction in the camp over the fall and winter, I took down all the curtains in the camp and ran them through the dryer with no heat. It was amazing all the dust that was in the dryer trap after each load. Gram and I worked hard getting bedrooms cleaned.
Liz K. along with Kim and Shaun arrived for a visit in time for lunch. They brought the nice weather with them. Liz is part of our New Year's group at Jenny Lake and was thrilled by seeing the lake unfrozen and greenery all around! She also enjoyed the indoor plumbing!
We took a hike to the outlet where the beavers have been busy.
There were lots of spring flowers in bloom.
Liz was the first one in the lake this season! I'm not sure it really counts when you only get your ankles wet!
But all that hiking was exhausting so we relaxed in the sunshine. They all headed back to Saratoga shortly after this rest.
With the company gone, the rain returned, but we were rewarded with not one rainbow, but if you look closely in the upper right hand corner of this photo, you can see a second rainbow. We didn't see it when I was taking the photo, only later, when we were home looking at the photos on the computer!
We left camp around 9:30 this morning, drove about 1.5 miles until we met this obstacle across the road! Yikes! We had to turn around, return to camp to warm Gram and GrandDad who were leaving shortly, and then take an alternate route!

We came home and are now looking forward to our upcoming Florida trip! Especially since we drove home today through snow!

Hope all is well.

Pedicure

In anticipation of our vacation to Florida, I had a pedicure this afternoon. I invited some of my friends to join me and we had a fun time. Sally, Diane and Sherri met me at Solutions Spa and we were all able to have our pedicure together in one room. It felt sooo good and now my feet look better than ever!

We all agreed that we needed to do that again someday~and not wait too long!

I've been able to ride my bike to work two days this week, which is a real treat, especially when I can take my 15 mile route home after school. Today, because of my pedicure, I had to come right home, but I rode a little extra before school because it was a nice cool morning for riding. I did get caught in the rain going to school on Monday, but I had some "quick-dry" pants on so I wasn't walking around in wet clothes all day.

Tomorrow it is one of my volunteer days at the hospital gift shop and then up to Jenny Lake to open camp this weekend.

Happy Birthday to Alison and Joanie on Thursday!

Hope all is well.

A Beautiful Day in Maryland

What a great day to be at a festival! Sally and I left Westminster at 7:45 AM and we were walking onto the grounds of the Howard County Fair Grounds for the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival by 8:30. It was once again a delightful, fibery day! We were surrounded by yarn, roving, sheep, alpacas, llamas, knitting and weaving supplies, and lamb. Here are a bunch of photos from our day.

The day was sunny and hot! When we weren't in one of the animal or vendor barns, we were seeking out some shade.

Liz joined us in time to have a late lunch. Sally and I indulged in some lamb, which was delicious. We all bought some yarn and I added to my roving supply. I also bought a very light weight silver shawl pin to go on my Seascape shawl.

Sally and I both had knit new sweaters for this festival. Well, actually mine was knit for the New York State Sheep and Wool Festival, but it was so cold that weekend that my new sweater was hidden under several other layers. So today it made its festival debut. But it was so hot that we had our sweaters off shortly after arriving! Here we are wearing our new sweaters, standing in the lobby of our hotel.

Liz drove back to our hotel with us and joined us for dinner. It was a bonus to see her.

Sally and I will head home tomorrow, hopefully not hitting too much rain.

Corey runs in the Big East Track meet tomorrow in Cincinnati. Good Luck, Corey!

Hope all is well.

On the Road

I'm filing this report from Westminster, Maryland, where I am poised to attend the 37th annual Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival. Sally has made the trip with me and I am glad to have her company.

We left before 8 o'clock this morning with our bikes on top of the Beetle. We had an uneventful drive to Gettysburg National Park where we took our bike off the roof of the car, changed into our biking clothes and rode 18 miles around the national park. Here are some photos from our ride.





It was a perfect day for riding, sunny and in the mid-80's with a gentle breeze! We followed the national park's Auto Route tour and for the most part we were riding on park roads with minimal traffic. I love to visit this park because when Tucker was younger, it was one of his favorite places. I can remember his enthusiastic verbal re-creation of the battles that took place here~ his passion was so evident! He couldn't get enough of the the monuments and the various landmarks in this historic area.

After our ride we continued south and east from Gettysburg to Westminster, MD. We got settled into our hotel and got cleaned up before heading to downtown Westminster where we ate a delicious meal at an Irish Pub. Here is a photo of Sally in the seat of honor at our table!

And yes, that is a Corona into which she is squeezing a lime!

The forecast for tomorrow is perfect for walking around the sheep and wool festival. Sally and I each have hand-knit sweaters to wear in the morning while the air is still cool, but I am sure will have them back in the car before too long. Liz is planning on driving up from DC and spending the afternoon and evening with us. That should be fun.

If I am not too tired tomorrow night, I will post some photos from the festival.

Hope all is well.

Happy Birthday, Maw

Today is my mother-in-law's birthday and I must have done something right to get such a great mother-in-law! Happy Birthday, Maw!

Yesterday Jim and I went on a nice 37 mile bike ride that included 2 bridge crossings, 3 bike paths, lunch at Schallers, and two quick social stops to visit with friends! All in all a great ride!

This weekend was our church's centennial celebration weekend and we participated in two of the festivities. Saturday night we attended the Centennial dinner and enjoyed talking with pastors that used to be at Bethany as well as church members that we don't get to chat with very often. Rev. Ferguson and his wife, Donna were our table mates and we were honored to be at their table. Rev. Ferguson was at Bethany for 22 years~he married us and baptized both of our boys, so he has been an important person in our lives. It was good to see him again.

This morning we attended the big Centennial worship service. My bell choir joined up with the teenage bell choir and we rang a beautiful piece for an introit. With 2 bell choirs ringing, it was an impressive sound. The rest of the service was led by our former pastors, full-time and interim, and it was joyous service.

Tonight we hosted a birthday dinner for Grandma, and Gram and GrandDad joined us too. Also joining us, was Rev. Peter and Anne Durkee. Rev. Durkee was an interim pastor at Bethany and he and his wife were staying at Gram and GrandDad's house. It was fun to have them here with us.

Back to school tomorrow after a great spring break! I guess I can make it now until the end of June. Especially when I remember our Florida trip in the middle of May!

I am excited to be able to start watching Dancing with the Stars again. I refused to watch it while Kate Gosselin was on, but since she has been voted off, I can now enjoy that show again.

Tomorrow night it is dinner at the Villages and then we will go pay our respects to the Glavin family.

Hope all is well.

DC Photos and more

As promised, here are some photos from my Washington, DC trip, with brief captions.

These first 5 pictures are from my solo ride on the Mount Vernon trail. I have no photos from when Liz and I rode the southern part of this trail because we were under time constraints and were riding too fast! I rode north on the trail from Alexandria, VA to see some of the memorials and monuments for which Washington, DC is famous.

Sunday night I went out to dinner with Liz and Ryan. Apparently the flash on my camera was in the OFF position so this is the best of the 2 photos I took that night. We had a nice dinner at a good chili place.

On Monday I moved from Alexandria to Herndon, VA so I could ride the W&OD trail, a railroad bed converted to a multi-use paved trail. The following photos are from my 2 days of riding and are typical scenes along the 45 mile route.

I took this picture in the town of Purcellville, the western terminus of the trail. I liked the island in the middle of the trail with arrows directing the bikers to turn around and go back the way they came!

So if you ever find yourself in DC with your bike or a willingness to rent one, I would highly recommend the Mount Vernon Trail and the W & OD Trail.

Tuesday night I met Liz and her friend Melissa at the Nationals Baseball Park for game between the Nationals and the Colorado Rockies. It was a fun evening inspite of the fact that there were very few people at the game and that the home team was losing 10-0 at the third inning! The Nationals scored a few runs but were still losing 10-4 when we left at the 7th inning. I never did see the final score. I took the Metro (subway) into DC and that was a great way to travel. Here are three photos from the ballpark.

It was Free T-Shirt Tuesday at the game, so we all put on our Nationals shirts to support the team (and to keep warm!).

I've been home for a couple of days and have gotten lots of little chores done around the house, which always feels good. Yesterday (Thursday), Jim and I went for a bike ride during his lunch hour which was fun. We had dinner at the Villages on Thursday night.

Today I went shopping and out to lunch with Gram and we had a good time.

Tomorrow we have a 35 mile bike ride planned and in the evening we will be going to church for the Centennial Dinner. On Sunday there is a big Centennial Worship Service planned that includes some former pastors coming back to help with the service. 100 years is a wonderful milestone for a church.

The Rochester running community got some sad news today~Pete Glavin passed away after a 16 month battle with brain cancer. His contribution and dedication to running in Rochester (and beyond) has been unmatched and he will be missed for who he was and all the good he did.

Hope all is well.