6/25/09 (Thursday): I'm in the home stretch now with the chemo--one treatment to go! It's been very hot and rainy here, so we've cut back on our outdoor activities a little.

We kayaked down Rock Springs Run one day. The rain had turned the normally crystal clear water kind of brown. It had also brought down a number of trees.



At one point, we had to call the outfitter to send someone out to remove this huge tree (covered with poison ivy) that was completely blocking the way. It was very interesting to watch these three guys and a chain saw in a small boat. At one point, they dropped the chain saw in the water and had to dive for it! Afther a few tries, it started up again and we were soon on our way.

This alligator was about 9 feet long!


















We also enjoyed the annual Dykes family reunion. Due to our travels, Wiley and I had missed the last two reunions. From left to right, we have Wiley, Joyce, Wiley Sr., Marguerite, Cathy, Bruce, Katelyn and David.




We didn't have any organized activities other than our potluck supper, but we enjoyed visiting with everyone, the breeze off the water and the big shade trees. We're already looking forward to next year's get together!










After all the heat we've suffered for the last couple of weeks, yesterday dawned cool and foggy. We were up early, and decided to take the kayaks out on the Wekiva River. There were jeweled spiderwebs everywhere. Those are some pretty brave spiders to build their webs out over the water!





I close with this shot of me the day after a chemo treatment. I hope no one is feeling too sorry for me!

6/8/09 (Monday): Gosh, it's been a long time since I blogged. I think I miss writing my blogs as much as my readers tell me they miss reading them! I'm feeling well and having very little ill effects from the chemo. But we're so busy with doctor appointments that we haven't been doing very much of interest. We have had a few outings. Here are some pictures.

My friend, Lucie, who worked with me when I was at Coke lives nearby. She came over one day and we took the river cruise offered by the campground for just $10. It was really fun. This little alligator (only about 12 inches long) was really cute. We also saw lots of birds.









We've gone over to New Smyrna Beach a couple of times. It's only about an hour away. We took the kayaks last time and Wiley tried his hand at clamming. He got enough for one meal, which he cooked himself and thoroughly enjoyed.











For Mother's Day, the Dykes clan got together for a meal at Carrabas. That's my mother-in-law, Mag, and sister-in-law, Cathie, on my right and my nephew, David, and niece, Katelyn, to my left. We had a good time, as usual.










We lucked into a really great pair of 18-speed bikes for sale just outside our campground--$10 each! All we had to do was replace the tubes on the back tires. We've been on a couple of rides on the bike trail that's only a couple of miles from here. We're up to 10 miles now! It's getting awfully warm now, but we hope to get in a few more rides before summer is over.








The best thing we've done lately was take a spontaneous long weekend in beautiful Siesta Key. We had a charming one-bedroom unit right on a saltwater lagoon. We took the kayaks and had fun paddling around and looking at the beautiful homes and tropical vegetation.









The beach was just glorious--snow white sand and aquamarine water. We even found some seashells. It was an utterly relaxing time and we really needed it.

Thanks to everyone for your support during this tough time in our lives. We miss all of you and hope to be back to our great adventure soon.