I have signed up with my long term Australian friend Bryce Ferguson to hike 18 days for about 190 miles across the UK, from Robin Hood Bay to St. Bees An average day is about 11 miles, but some days will be 20 miles, plus we will climb "the equivalent" of Mt Everest! So obviously I need to get into shape.
David gave me a "fitbit" for Christmas. This little watch like device measures how far you walk in a day. I love to have data and so I love my fitbit. As soon as I had tried it out I called Bryce and told him "You have to get one of these!" Our data can be shared over the internet, Bryce came up with a spread sheet and I anxiously log in each morning to see what he managed the day before. After two weeks we are now both averaging about 13,000 paces a day.
There is about 2,000 paces in a mile, so by August we need to be regularly managing days of 40,000 paces. The IOP is a great place to walk, but its flat. The only hill in the area is the bridge over the IOP.
We also need to prep for Deidre's TAR. Today we both joined a gym and we are both on diets. We have also been looking to rent a furnished ground floor apartment so Deidre has a sensible place to recover. Today we hit the jackpot and rented a whole house from a Canadian family who had to return to Canada for a medical emergency. We have it for 3 to 4 months.
(Today was a good day! We also tracked down a free child car seat! So now we can transport Mason without borrowing a car seat from Kylie and Ryan.)
Saturday, January 30, 2016
Off to Florida
Friday January 22 to Monday 25th
We keep pretty busy on the boat but need a break occasionally. We have some boating friends camped in the Stuart area so on Friday we were up early and headed south. It was a horrible day, cold, wet and winy so a good day for a drive.
Stuart is about 600 miles south and where we purchased Tide Hiker back in 2011. Its a nice place, very "boaty". Don and Barb met us at a local sport for dinner (we had a 10% off coupon!) and it was fun to catch up with their news. Next day we had breakfast at a fancy spot and then drove to Palm Beach for a bit of shopping and to look at RVs - our next adventure. Saturday night we had been invited for dinner on Cavara, followed by cards.
Sunday afternoon we met up with Steve and Diane on Aurora - another DF RPH 49. Steve is a real "guru" on DeFevers and I was looking for advice on a bunch of "long term maintenance" issues. Steve and I spent an hour or so in the ER, then returned upstairs for pizza and a little imbibing
Monday we drove back to Charleston. I like putting lots of miles on rental cars.
We keep pretty busy on the boat but need a break occasionally. We have some boating friends camped in the Stuart area so on Friday we were up early and headed south. It was a horrible day, cold, wet and winy so a good day for a drive.
Stuart is about 600 miles south and where we purchased Tide Hiker back in 2011. Its a nice place, very "boaty". Don and Barb met us at a local sport for dinner (we had a 10% off coupon!) and it was fun to catch up with their news. Next day we had breakfast at a fancy spot and then drove to Palm Beach for a bit of shopping and to look at RVs - our next adventure. Saturday night we had been invited for dinner on Cavara, followed by cards.
Sunday afternoon we met up with Steve and Diane on Aurora - another DF RPH 49. Steve is a real "guru" on DeFevers and I was looking for advice on a bunch of "long term maintenance" issues. Steve and I spent an hour or so in the ER, then returned upstairs for pizza and a little imbibing
Monday we drove back to Charleston. I like putting lots of miles on rental cars.
Adams Birthday in Cleveland
Friday January 8th to Monday January 11, 2016
Kathy had invited the family to Adam's 40th birthday party to be held this Saturday. So we picked up Kylie and Mason, dropped them off at the airport, and headed North. We actually made it thru Charlotte (where Kylie and Mason had a connection) before they did! That day we made it to Marietta, Ohio where we had booked a really inexpensive hotel via a bid on Priceline.
We completed the drive on Saturday and went straight to Indy's soccer game. Indy scored a coupe of goals, obviously spurred on by Grandpas load cheering. After lunch we checked into the hotel (another Priceline deal) and took it easy until party time.
The party was at the "B Side" one of Kathy's clubs. They had invited "150 of their closest friends". We had the job of shuttling the kids home as their bed times arrived. It was a pretty fancy party but we retired at an early hour with the kids.
Sunday morning a cold front blew thru, bringing 20 degree temps, wind and snow. It was awful. We drove thru the storm in convoy to the west side for breakfast, after which a "select group" went to the RV Show at the Exhibition Center. unday night dinner was take out Thai food at the Blackmans'. Mason was really enjoying his cousins.
Monday we drove back to the boat and made the 700 odd miles in one day. The trip was extremely efficient - we never paid more than $1.80 a gallon and the car got over 40 MPG. Kylie and mason flew home Tuesday and we met them at the AP.
Kathy had invited the family to Adam's 40th birthday party to be held this Saturday. So we picked up Kylie and Mason, dropped them off at the airport, and headed North. We actually made it thru Charlotte (where Kylie and Mason had a connection) before they did! That day we made it to Marietta, Ohio where we had booked a really inexpensive hotel via a bid on Priceline.
We completed the drive on Saturday and went straight to Indy's soccer game. Indy scored a coupe of goals, obviously spurred on by Grandpas load cheering. After lunch we checked into the hotel (another Priceline deal) and took it easy until party time.
The party was at the "B Side" one of Kathy's clubs. They had invited "150 of their closest friends". We had the job of shuttling the kids home as their bed times arrived. It was a pretty fancy party but we retired at an early hour with the kids.
Sunday morning a cold front blew thru, bringing 20 degree temps, wind and snow. It was awful. We drove thru the storm in convoy to the west side for breakfast, after which a "select group" went to the RV Show at the Exhibition Center. unday night dinner was take out Thai food at the Blackmans'. Mason was really enjoying his cousins.
Monday we drove back to the boat and made the 700 odd miles in one day. The trip was extremely efficient - we never paid more than $1.80 a gallon and the car got over 40 MPG. Kylie and mason flew home Tuesday and we met them at the AP.
Wednesday, December 30, 2015
Durham, NC
Tuesday and Wednesday, December 29 and 30, 2015
Our plans for 2016 will be based upon what happens with Deidre's ankle. Before we left for Australia she visited a surgeon in Charleston and said her choice was "fusing" or "replacement". He projected that a replacement would only last about 5 years, and Deidre thought he needed to wash his hair. So we have been working on second, third and forth opinions.
Our Charleston GP recommended we visit the ankle specialists at Duke University in NC. We were able to get an appointment for today so drove to Durham yesterday and fronted up today. Deidre was a lot more comfortable with the guy and we scheduled replacement surgery for March 18th! I think we are about 75% sure of this decision. And now we have a date to build our year around.
The drive back was hampered by teeming rain. I will be interested to read what the totals were for the region. The round trip was 650 miles.The car got 43 MPG - amazing! We bought gas for $1.80 a gallon.
Our plans for 2016 will be based upon what happens with Deidre's ankle. Before we left for Australia she visited a surgeon in Charleston and said her choice was "fusing" or "replacement". He projected that a replacement would only last about 5 years, and Deidre thought he needed to wash his hair. So we have been working on second, third and forth opinions.
Our Charleston GP recommended we visit the ankle specialists at Duke University in NC. We were able to get an appointment for today so drove to Durham yesterday and fronted up today. Deidre was a lot more comfortable with the guy and we scheduled replacement surgery for March 18th! I think we are about 75% sure of this decision. And now we have a date to build our year around.
The drive back was hampered by teeming rain. I will be interested to read what the totals were for the region. The round trip was 650 miles.The car got 43 MPG - amazing! We bought gas for $1.80 a gallon.
Saturday, December 26, 2015
Isle of Palms, SC
Saturday December 19, 2015
We arrived back in Charleston at about 5 PM after about 20 hours of traveling. We went straight to Kylie's to catch up with her and Mason and then back to the boat where we were in bed by 10 PM. We slept until Noon the next day!
We arrived back in Charleston at about 5 PM after about 20 hours of traveling. We went straight to Kylie's to catch up with her and Mason and then back to the boat where we were in bed by 10 PM. We slept until Noon the next day!
Thursday, December 24, 2015
Kahanah, Maui
Friday December 11, 2015 thru Friday December 18, 2015
Our Korean kids had rented a house right on the beach in Kahanah, Maui. We were staying a week then Jennifer's parents and brother were taking our place for another week. David stayed 10 days before flying back to work in Korea.
On Monday we made the "drive to Hana. This was a full days drive around the easterly coast, where the island faced the trade winds.
On our last day Deidre, David and I drove up Mt Haleakala on the eastern part of the island. It is a dormant volcano with a peak 10,000' about sea level. Fortunately we had been warned about how cold it was at the summit. David took me for a walk down into the crater and I thought I was going to die on the way back.
Our Korean kids had rented a house right on the beach in Kahanah, Maui. We were staying a week then Jennifer's parents and brother were taking our place for another week. David stayed 10 days before flying back to work in Korea.
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| View from our balcony |
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| "Our" beach |
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| Connor |
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| Fiona |
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| Most of the gang |
On Monday we made the "drive to Hana. This was a full days drive around the easterly coast, where the island faced the trade winds.
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| Walking in the rain forest |
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| At the easterly tip. It is very volcanic. |
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| Very rugged coastline |
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| The road got a little rugged too |
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| Lots of waterfalls |
On our last day Deidre, David and I drove up Mt Haleakala on the eastern part of the island. It is a dormant volcano with a peak 10,000' about sea level. Fortunately we had been warned about how cold it was at the summit. David took me for a walk down into the crater and I thought I was going to die on the way back.
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