8/11/09 (Tuesday): The second half of 2009 is shaping up to be lots more fun than the first half! I went to Savannah with my mother-in-law and sister-in-law to kick off my new commitment to enjoying life post-cancer. It was a great beginning!

Immediately upon arrival, we got in line for reservations at Paula Deen's restaurant. There was a sign up indicating that there were no seats left for lunch or dinner, but someone told us they also seated people in the bar.

We waited about two hours and did score some seats. As soon as you sit down, they bring hoe cakes and cheese biscuits. There was an extensive menu as well as a buffet. We opted for the menu. I teased Mag because she ordered chicken salad. I debated the asparagus sandwich (seriously!), but wound up with the chicken salad myself. I don't remember what Cathy chose. It was all very good. In fact, we decided almost immediately to do it again the next day! More on that later.

After checking into our hotel, which was right in the historic district and quite nice, we took a trolley tour of the city. Savannah was founded by James Oglethorpe in 1732. Among other things, Oglethorpe was trying to help the poor people of London. The debtor's prisons were full and many people were being imprisoned simply because they were poor. Of course, it also helped that Savannah was in a perfect position to protect the wealthy South Carolina settlements from the Spanish.






























We saw many gorgeous old buildings, including this fancy store. When it was built, it was the first Ford dealer in Savannah!













The dome of city hall, which used to be the capitol, is covered with 43 ounces of native gold which was donated by the citizens of Dahlonega and Lumpkin County.



















Savannah was once one of the biggest cotton exporters in the world. In its heyday, it exported over 2 million bales of cotton a year. The cotton exchange was the control center of all this activity. It backs right up to the river, where the merchants could direct the activity. The gorgeous cast iron fence has medallions of famous people. It was once the balcony railing of a Savannah mansion.

The circular structure in the front was a fountain with a 100-year-old statue of a winged lion. It was quite famous. Sadly, a car ran into it in 1999. Because it was terra cotta, it was destroyed.

The trolly tour was very educational and entertaining. We appreciated the overview of the city. The horse drawn carriage rides looked very appealing, but after catching a whiff of what the horses left behind in the gutters, we were content with our trolly. We did enjoy seeing the horses resting and drinking water near the city market.









Mag was utterly pooped after the tour. She said she was going to put on her PJs and stay in the hotel room. Cathy and I were going to go out without her, but I happened to mention the ice cream parlour I'd seen around the corner from the hotel and ...









On the second day, we got in line early to secure our reservations for Paula Deen's (about 2 hours) and then walked the river walk. We saw a couple of container ships going under the gorgeous suspension bridge. On the way up, we'd seen many of the containers being trucked up and down the highway. It was really fascinating to see goods from all over the world arriving and departing from Savannah.






We enjoyed going in the tourist shops and candy stores and people watching. These guys are making palmetto flowers for donations.













Of course, when we saw this beautiful display of gelato, we just had to go in for a sample. Yum!














In the candy store there were several of these large collages made of jelly beans!














After another terrific meal at Paula Deen's (this time we did the buffet), we rested at the hotel for a little bit.














Then Mag treated us to a fantastic 50's variety show at the old Savannah Theater. The building was built in 1818 and has been nicely restored. The show was really great. There were musical numbers from Jerry Lee Lewis, Buddy Holly and Elvis and comedy numbers. We all particularly enjoyed the unique take off on the old "who's on first" routine. We had a blast.







We were sad to leave on Monday morning, but we made one final stop in Savannah at Bonaventure Cemetery. Johnny Mercer and Carl Aiken are buried there. Many of the tombstones were beautifully carved by a famous sculptor. Ironically, the sculptor's gravesite has no headstone! If you'd like to learn more about the cemetery, here's a link: Bonaventure Cemetery.





We made one more stop on the way home to have lunch in Palm Coast. I thought the food was almost as good as Paula Deen's and we didn't have to wait! We were in a silly mood by now. It was really great to be with family and have fun. I felt as though it really were the first day of the rest of my life.

7/22/09 (Wednesday): Happy days are here again! I'm all done with chemo and the oncologist says my prognosis is excellent. (Picture Joyce doing a happy dance!) I'll have the chemo port removed in a couple of weeks and then I'll have a CAT scan in November. After that I'll be checked every 6 months for 5 years. It's been a long haul and I couldn't have done it without friends and family. Thanks to everyone for their support.

Next on our medical agenda is Wiley's deep brain stimulator surgery on August 29. He's been a real trouper throughout my ordeal, now it's his turn. He's actually looking forward to the surgery because his experience with the first implant has been so good. It has enabled him to take less medication. The medication causes some side effects, so he's really looking forward to taking less.

After Wiley's surgery, I'll have outpatient "surgery" (it's actually a form of radiation) on a growth on my auditory nerve. I've had a loss of hearing in my left ear caused by an acoustic neuroma, which is a noncancerous, slow growing tumor. The surgery will save the remaining hearing in that ear and prevent future problems that might be caused by the tumor.

We'll be taking off on September 1 and ditching all the appointments for a trip to Michigan. First we'll stop for a visit in Ypsilanti with my son, Tom, and his family. Then we'll head for Upper Peninsula, Michigan for a tour of the great north woods. We'll return to Florida by way of Boone, NC, and a visit with all our friends at the KOA there. We haven't found a position in Florida for next winter, but we hope to do so soon. If we don't find anything, we'll still plan to say in Florida next winter.

Here are a few pictures from our little adventures over the past month or so. We did a short kayak trip on Spruce Creek. This lovely fellow was walking the parking lot, looking for a pretty friend.














We enjoyed live music and fireworks right here in our campground on July 4th. It's been extremely hot and humid (even by Florida standards) here, but at least we've had some rain. There were a couple of years recently where all fireworks were banned for fear of fire.

















We celebrated Mag's birthday with dinner out and birthday cake. That's Mag, Cathy, Katelyn and David. Lookin' good, Mag!














We've been over to New Smyrna Beach a couple of times lately. I never thought I'd like a beach where people are allowed to drive, but I must admit it's very convenient when it's hot and you have a lot to carry to be able to drive right to the spot where you want to set up. On the way back from a recent trip to the beach, we passed the ruins of Andrew Turnbull's home. Some of Wiley's ancestors were among the Minorcans recruited in 1766 by Turnbull to raise indigo, rice and hemp for export to England. When the Spanish took Florida from the British, Wiley's family walked from New Smyrna to St. Augustine (and eventually to San Mateo) and established homes of their own.

Our most recent adventure was a trip to Ft. Myers with our niece, Katelyn (age 13). We had a great campsite on Ft. Myers Beach. The back end of the camper was almost hanging out over the water. We enjoyed some kayaking and a day at Sanibel. Katelyn found some great shells. We visited the shell museum while we were there. Katelyn is very artistic and I think she's going to make some sailor's valentines like the ones we saw at the museum. Check out this website for some gorgeous sailor's valentines.



Katelyn was a very good guest. She even indulged Aunt Joyce with a ride on the Ding Darling wildlife trail. We saw roseate spoonbills, which is a rather rare treat.

We also took a tour of the winter homes of Thomas Edison and Henry Ford. These brilliant men were great friends and their modest homes were side-by-side on the Calloosahatchee River. The grounds are planted with lots of exotic kinds of trees that Edison was experimenting with to try to discover an alternate source of rubber.

This giant banyan tree is a Florida record setter. It was given to Edison by Harvey Firestone in 1925. It was only 4 feet tall at the time. Now it's 60 feet tall and 400 feet in diameter!

Highlights of the tour, in addition to the gardens, were the vintage automobiles, laboratory where Edison worked on some of his inventions, including the phonograph and electric lights.





A final treat was a visit to Everglades Wonder Gardens, which is an old roadsite attraction. There were a number of rescued Florida critters and some interesting plants. This otter was extremely cute. We loved the way it used its paws on the sides of the slide to slow its descent long enough to catch the fish thrown by the guide!


Katelyn was a good guest and we hope to take some more trips together this winter.

That's all for now. Stay tuned for a blog following my trip this weekend with Mag and Cathy to Savannah!

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.

5/2/09 (Saturday): There's not a whole lot of news from us. We're still here in Florida. I'm about half way through my chemo treatments and feeling pretty good. We're taking advantage of being back in familiar territory with lots of visits with friends and family. We've also made a lot of routine doctor and business appointments. In between all that kind of stuff, we've made a couple of visits to the beach and hiked some local trails. Wiley will be having another deep brain stimulator surgery on 7/29. The first surgery took care of the tremor on the right side of his body and this surgery will manage the left side.

We've gotten a lot of pleasure from our bird feeders. Earlier this spring, the goldfinches visited in huge flocks--we had as many as 35 at one time.




















The spring wildflowers have also been quite pretty. This one is called blue eyed grass (the "eye" is yellow--go figure!).













I've seen a couple of flowers I can't identify. This yellow one with a green center was beside a trail in the woods. Can anyone identify it?




















This is another one I can't identify. The leaves have pretty pink veins and the flower is a pinkish white. It's quite large and is usually flopped over and lying on the ground. It also grows beside the woodland trails in the sand. Any of you plant folks out there--I'd love to know what it is!










This is a little cowpea. Very bright and cheerful, isn't it?




















We managed to call up a couple of scrub jays on a ride through the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. They're restoring the scrub in the area. I sure hope Florida manages to rescue these beautiful, bold birds from the developers.










Another area we've really enjoyed is the Canaveral National Seashore. On the south end, there's a ghost town called Eldora. Only one building remains standing, the "State House." It's been turned into a museum. There's also a pier where Wiley has enjoyed fishing and crabbing.











There's a short nature trail, too. This is wild coffee. It grows all over the wooded areas.




















There's some lantana planted near the State House and it was just alive with these white butterflies. I looked them up in my identification book, and I believe they're called "Florida Whites."











There's not much left of the town--a few foundations and this structure (maybe an ice house?). The town was one of many Florida towns that depended on the rivers for transportation. It dates back to around 1877 and died out when it was bypassed by the railroad. Check out this website for more information. Eldora


We've visited this area a couple of times. Last time we went with our friend, Troy. He must have brought us luck, because we were treated to a great show by a pod of dolphins swimming right beside the pier. They were so close that we could hear them breathing! Every now and then, they'd leap out of the water with a great splash that sounded like a person doing a belly flop. We surmise that they were catching their breakfast. The show went on for about an hour. Great fun!



Another spot we really like to visit is Sanford's waterfront. There's a nice walkway along Lake Monroe. Our friend, Troy, took this shot.

I hope you've enjoyed catching up with our great adventure. We're hoping for some travels to more distant shores this autumn--maybe even as far as the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Stay tuned!

4/7/09 (Friday): It's been a while, but here I am again! I didn't have my second chemo as scheduled because the first chemo made me too sick and my white count went too low. But I eventually had the second and third treatments and they didn't make me nearly as sick as the first one. Now I have a week off before I start the second round (of four). The first treatment in each round is more intense. I hope it'll go a little better for me this time.

In the meantime, whenever I feel up to it, we've been enjoying our proximity to the Wekiva River and lots of hiking trails. We've also been visiting with family and friends. It's good to be home.

In no particular order, I'll share some recent pictures with you. This is a mixed media artwork by my 6-year-old granddaughter, Anna. Pretty good, huh?!













While we've been enjoying a very mild winter and an early spring here in Florida, Michigan has seen lots of snow! My granddaughters enjoyed the snow cave their Dad helped them build.











Speaking of snow, here's Hudson on a recent skiing trip. Dad said he did really well.









Not much exciting happening here, I guess. I just wanted to let everyone know that we're hanging in there.

3/23/09 (Monday): Well, I finished my first chemo treatment--it was pretty bad, but I'm feeling much stronger now. I go in for the next treatment tomorrow. The first treatment in each segment is much harsher than the next two, so I'm hopeful I'll tolerate this one better.

In between feeling bad, we've been having some good times. Seminole State Forest is across the street from our campground and provides some beautiful hikes through a typical Florida forest. It was a beautiful early spring day, so even though we didn't hike very far, we had a great time.









We've also been out in our kayaks a couple more times. I just love the variety of wildlife on this beautiful river.













Another beautiful bird watching area that's nearby is Lake Woodruff. There's lots of hiking on dikes raised above the shallow water. Wiley got in some fishing and I walked a little and sat in the shade and read for a while. Very relaxing.















I don't know how people without family and friends get through something like this. A couple of days after trying to tough out the nausea and extreme fatigue from my chemo, I gave it up and moved in with my mother-in-law. Mag actually gave up her bed to me so that I'd have a TV to distract me. She waited on me hand and foot and drove me to the doctor's office. When the worst was over, we all went to Lake Eola to sit in the sun and people watch (and, yes, bird watch some more, too).


So that's the way it is for us these days. Still living the adventure.