Lifes Crossroads part 2

My follow up appointment was scheduled for Tuesday November 27 at the Destin office. I was planning on getting my checkup and going to work for awhile. I got up that morning and knew that I wasn’t feeling real good, chills, signs of a cold, not hungry but maybe it was just my imagination. Kim took my temperature and it showed 102, but I told her it was probably just that dollar store thermometer she was using. After trying to eat a little breakfast and then Kim went off to work it was time for me to go for my doctor’s appointment. I arrived there at around 0830 and very shortly went in to have my vitals checked and blood drawn. My temperature was 99.9, told you it was a cheap home thermometer. Anyway that was not a good start and it was only going to get worse. When I got the printed results of the blood test it showed that my WBCs were 0.7. This meant that not only did I have a fever, which showed that there was probably some sort of infection in my body; I also had pretty much no white blood cells to fight the infection. Not wanting to believe what I knew to be true, I waited for the Doctor. He looked at my chart then came into the exam room and said, “You need to go to the hospital immediately”. I’m sure it showed as all the air went out of my lungs and all the color drained from my face. I couldn’t speak, tears came to my eyes; this was going to be the beginning of a very emotional time in my life. The Doctor asked me if I would be able to drive myself to the hospital, I nodded or something and he said he was going to get the admitting papers ready immediately.

I was sixty-five years old and had never been in a hospital except to visit others who were there. Was this for real, was it all just a bad dream, maybe it was from what I had for dinner last night. I didn’t know what to think but I asked the Doctor if there wasn’t something else we could do, if I could go home and rest and take some antibiotics, anything but go to the hospital. Maybe it was the unknown, but I was scared. I wasn’t feeling real bad, why did I need to go to the hospital? The hospital was full of sick people, that couldn’t be good for me. While I waited for the Doctor to finish up the paperwork and I had all these thoughts going through my mind, I called Kim to let her know that I was going to be admitted to the hospital. It was even hard to get out the words to her but she understood. The Doctor finally finished the admitting papers and phone calls he needed to make and he gave me my marching orders telling me it should only be a few days. I left the office, papers in hand, realizing I was about to drive myself to the hospital where I would spend an unknown amount of time away from family and friends. Unknown to me I was also about to learn a number of valuable lessons; may I never forget.

To say I was apprehensive would definitely be an understatement. Instead of heading to work as I had planned that morning, I was heading back home to grab a few things to take with me to the hospital. It seemed very fitting that the weather was cooperating with the circumstances in that it was a very dreary day outside. I arrived home and walked in the door, and there to greet me was my very happy little bundle of fur, Fozzy. As usual he brought a smile to my face and I picked him up and gave him a hug. Unfortunately his happiness wasn’t going to last very long. I went into the other room and got a sort of travel bag and packed some socks, underwear, toiletries and a few things I thought I might need for a short stay in the hospital. I didn’t feel sick, why was I going to the hospital? Looking back I realize I was a whole lot sicker than I thought I was; hopefully I will remember this lesson along with all the others to come.

I grabbed my bag, hugged my little Fozzy, walked out the door and got into my car. I started on the journey that was going to take me down many roads. Remember back in the beginning of this story Kim was not able to be with me when I received the chemo treatment because of her co-worker yet by the grace of God good came out if it. Well, Kim was going to be facing more stress because her co-worker was still out and things were really hectic at work and she was stuck. As I continued driving, thinking about Kim, the weather continued to match the mood, it started raining really hard and the closer I got to the hospital the harder it rained. Oh this was going to be great. I wasn’t even sure where to go for admitting. I pulled into the parking lot in front of the hospital and looked for a parking space. It was raining even harder and the lot was very full. I spotted an empty space and headed toward it while from the other direction a little white Kia whipped into the space before me. I looked some more for an empty space but found none, so I proceeded to the far end of the lot about as far from the entrance as you could get. Oh well, I was here to be admitted to the hospital anyway, what harm could come from a little romp through the puddles on a dreary rainy day? I grabbed my stuff, a small umbrella and ran toward the entrance of the hospital. By the time I got there my jeans were soaked, now what?

I went to the information desk and told them I needed to be admitted, and had all the papers from the Doctor. A very nice lady led me to the opposite end of the hospital to the admitting department. So now I know where I should have come in, hopefully to never need that information again. They called me to the little admitting booth and went over the myriad of paperwork, put a bracelet on my wrist, which clashed with my shirt, and told me to have a seat and someone would be right there to wheel me to my room. I called Kim, barely able to talk, and let her know what was happening. Right about that time my chariot arrived and a sight I didn’t expect; my loving son in law Don walking toward me behind the lady with my wheelchair. Now I really had tears in my eyes. As soon as he found out that I was alone at the hospital he left work and headed to the hospital to be with me. WOW! I couldn’t talk, just gave him a hug. It turns out that he arrived before I did. Remember the little white Kia in the parking lot?

Not knowing that I hadn’t arrived yet, Don started the search to see where I was. He checked information and they told him I was in ICU. He went to ICU and asked for me but was told that I wasn’t there. They said there was another ICU and to check there, which he did but of course I wasn’t there either. He went back to the information desk and told them I wasn’t there so they checked again and told him that I was in room 450. He went to the room, looked in and found it empty but ready for a customer. After a few more inquiries he went to admitting and there I was. Seeing him there sure made an unpleasant experience a little easier to handle. I got up and sat in the wheelchair, Don took my bag and the three of us proceeded toward my room. When we got to the nurses’ station in the section where Don had found my room, the nurses acted like they were waiting for me. I guess news travels fast through these hospital halls. I was taken to my room, 450, climbed out of my chariot and sat on the bed. I was in a haze but someone I loved and who loved me was there by my side. Again timing is everything; perhaps if Kim was able to be with me Don would not have had the opportunity to do something that I believe meant as much to him as it meant to me. Another lesson not to be forgotten!

Lifes Crossroads part 1

I am sitting here at home reflecting on one of the most personally emotional, scary, eye opening experiences I can remember in all my sixty five years. It is a long story but so many of my family and friends have been involved in it I felt I needed to tell the whole story in my own words. This particular experience started back in November when I went for my regular oncology check up. The Doctor said he felt it was time for me to begin chemo. Not really what I wanted to hear but I knew it was coming but things started getting complicated right away. I told the Doctor that his partner told me the week before that he also felt I would need chemo real soon which is why I had this appointment only a week after my previous appointment. The doctor last week gave me a prescription for medications to take when it came time for treatment so that I would have them available. This latest appointment was on Thursday November 15 and Doctor wanted to start treatment right away. I told him that I did not start taking the medication yet as the other doctor did not tell me to start taking it but have it available when needed. This doctor was upset that I was not told to start the med and because this medication was used to keep the kidney from shutting down he struggled with whether it would be safe to start treatment immediately. In the end he decided that it would be best not to start treatment but for me to start taking the medication immediately and start treatment the following Monday, November 19. And so it began!

Timing in life is amazing, especially when you look back on it. My loving adoring wife was very stressed and upset because she would not be able to go with me for treatment because we both felt that she needed to be at work. For reasons I won’t go into her co-worker was going out of town this week and Kim was the only one available to do her job. Like all obligations we felt it was important to honor it. Lest anyone think I am saying work is more important than family, you can forget that. If there was no one else available things would have been handled differently, so now for the rest of the story.

Because Kim could not be with me one of my loving daughters, Kathy, was able to change her schedule and take me for treatment. This began a number of eye opening experiences I would witness in the next few weeks. Kathy was a delight to have by my side during a not so pleasant experience. We call her the apple because she is a lot like her father, most good some not so much. One of the similarities is that we both pretty much hold our emotions to ourselves. Spending eight hours together in a chemo room while I was hooked to an IV while they pumped poison into my veins along with 10 or 12 others going through similar procedures changes that.

Since I couldn’t go anywhere, captive audience, we had time to talk, laugh observe each other and just be together. Sometime soon I would like to do that under better circumstances. She would constantly text Kim so she would not feel left out. She would text Kim with something like “dad just went to the bathroom” and similar important updates. She was a delight to watch and I was proud to say this is my daughter. In the chemo room there is always a basket of munchies and I asked Kathy to bring me the basket so I could pick something to munch on. After I picked what I wanted Kathy proceeded to carry that basket around to every person in that room to see if they wanted some munchies also. What a delight to my heart! As the poison was slowly being pumped into my body, Kathy was able to do some work on her laptop along with her time just being my daughter. We were both starting to get a little hungry so she drove up the street and got us both something to eat. We struck up a conversation with a woman who came for treatment a little later in the morning and found that she was a member of First Baptist Church in Niceville. The three of us had some nice conversations and a few laughs. We were wondering who was going to be the last to leave since it was eventually just the three of us and the nurses. Finally they determined that I had enough poison for the day, so they unhooked me and let me go with instructions to go to the hospital first thing in the morning to get a stat blood test to determine that my kidneys were not failing and I could continue with round one Tuesday morning. Kathy drove me home and made sure I was comfortable and returned to her home.

Tuesday morning I awoke early not feeling too bad and went to Twin City Hospital at 0700 to get the stat blood test the Doctor requested. When I went in to do the paperwork the lady and I began to talk and it turned out she was a member of First Baptist Church and I mentioned the woman I met while getting chemo. She said she knew her well and we both agreed she was an inspiration to just about everyone she met. We talked a little about God’s love and grace and when we finished the paperwork I went to the lab to have my blood taken. I left there and drove to the Santa Rosa Beach office to have part B of this first round of chemo since this one normally only takes less than a couple of hours to complete and I had planned to go to work for awhile when I was finished. I arrived around 0830 and went in to have my vitals taken and have the Doctor check the hospital lab results. He said the results were borderline but he felt it was safe to continue. He once again noted that I needed to go to the hospital again first thing Wednesday morning to have them do another kidney test and if there was a problem I could be spending Thanksgiving in the hospital. I really prayed that would not happen and continued to take the medication he prescribed and drink LOTS of fluids.

When this round of chemo was complete I did not feel too badly so I decided that I would go to work. Since this was the Tuesday before Thanksgiving I did not have an appointment till the following Tuesday since it takes at least that long to see the results of the chemo. Doctor reminded me though that I must get the blood test done and call his office in the morning to check the results and if anything unusual occurred to call anytime day or night. I still felt pretty good Wednesday morning and I went to the hospital at 0700 to have blood drawn for the kidney test. I went to work and of course was apprehensive waiting to hear the results. Tomorrow was Thanksgiving and I was looking forward to having two days off for the first time in years; would I be spending them in the hospital, Lord please no. I got the call from the Doctor’s office that the results were good, kidneys were normal. I breathed easier and thanked the Lord. The rest of the week was business as usual, work, Thanksgiving, weekend activities all seemed right with the world. This was going to turn out to be another lesson learned; people make you sick, and I mean that in the nicest way. Although I escaped a hospital stay during Thanksgiving, the next couple of weeks would teach me that I am a lot sicker than I thought I was and I would be learning more about my relationship with God, relationships with other people and a lot about love and being loved. This is the beginning of the story and I am going to post it as part one as I continue to write out the rest of the story.

Retirement Ramblings

Early in the year I wrote about the countdown to retirement. Well I am sitting here on this rainy day on July 6 2012 and decided I would write an update on where I am in that process. I did sit down with my boss and talk about the needs of the company and what i was looking to do. We decided on the hours i would need to work to equal the amount i would get from social security if i were to fully retire and what my responsibilities would be in this new part time position. Over the past few months we tweaked everything a little and on May 1st i kind of unofficially semi-retired. I took a couple of PTO days to give me the first two Friday's off in May and we decided that i would start working part time with Friday's off on the pay period that started on May 14 which happens to be the day i turned 65. And so it began.

It took a little getting use to but after about a month and a half i can say that i am really getting use to it. I admit that i am still trying to get a handle on what to do long term with this extra time, but for now i am just enjoying it. It allows me to have extra time to do some things around the house but mostly i have been practicing retirement and just enjoying some extra time with Kim. A couple of times i sat and read a book just because i could and then i took a nap. As much as i am enjoying the freedom for now, i am praying to see what the Lord might lead me toward doing to get involved in some volunteer work.

The Friday's off part is really nice but the part time hours hasn't been so part time yet. Since i started my semi-retirement right around the time we go into tourist season here there has been a lot to do at work and so i have not felt i could leave real early on the days i do work. Actually i am happy about that since i still feel needed and i know that when things slow down i will probably be cutting my hours back. Even being able to leave an hour or so earlier has been nice.

One of the things i really like is that no one works for me now. That was the one thing i really wanted more than anything. I have been in some form of management most of my life and i just didn't want to be responsible for anyone anymore. Since my son in law worked for me before it had an effect on our relationship that neither one of us liked. Now we can just enjoy the family relationship that we want and even though we both still work for the same company we have different responsibilities. I am doing the work that i really enjoy and find that there is still plenty to do. Taking care of computer issues and working with vendors to keep things maintained in all the stores keeps me going.

So as i sit here at home on this rainy Friday, i just have to say that being off on a rainy day is still better than being at work on a sunny day. I am loving it and will see what i wind up doing in the long term.

I'v got what?

Well, this turned out to be a pretty good week. I was able to accomplish a couple computer related problems that made me feel pretty good but i also had a problem this week. It turns out that i have a UTI. Now for you more medically inclined people I'm sure you know exactly what that means. For the rest of us it is a medical situation that an old guy like me could find somewhat embarrassing. Let me give you the whole story and you decide. On Monday i was feeling pretty good, albeit tired as usual, except that i had to urinate more frequently than normal. Not to much of a problem, i am getting older and that is just something older people do. I even did my exercise routine after work. Monday night i probably woke up five times to go to the bathroom, and i was just thankful that i woke up. I know that is not unusual for an older person but i normally wake up maybe once. I hope this is not TMI but is all leading up to my UTI. Tuesday the symptoms continued and every time i tried to get some work done i had to go to the bathroom and i had a headache. Now what little medical knowledge i have this was beginning to sound to me like a prostate problem. This concerned me a bit but i thought my numbers and exams in the area were always very good. Not that the exam was very good, that i find rather personal, but that is another story. At this point i think i still had not mentioned anything to Kim because i was not overly concerned and she worries about me a lot. Tuesday night was the same as the night before except that i was noticing a bit of discomfort during my many bathroom visits.

Wednesday things got even worse and without going into to many details, what if a child should stumble onto this page, i was starting to feel really crappy. When i got home home i felt rather weak and had a headache and the bathroom thing was not getting any better. Now i said something to Kim and she confirmed that i was looking rather crappy. She took my temperature and found that i had a slight fever. I took a couple of Ibuprofen, put my feet up and just chilled out for the evening, as much as i could while going to the bathroom on a frequent schedule. I even asked Kim about the possibility of having a prostate problem and was there any products she knew of that would help. She said she would check into it and i settled in for the night and went to bed. I didn't sleep very well and Thursday morning i was concerned enough that i called Kim at work to tell her this problem was not getting any better. As i think back on it, I realize how God is so good in our lives. The Doctor's office where Kim works was closed for the week and she was there to answer phones and do paperwork. If the office was open she would not have been able to take the next step, except knowing her she probably would have anyway. She called me back a little while later and said i was not going to be happy with her, and she was right, but she made an appointment for me with the doctor for 1300 hrs. but i had to be there at 1200 to get some lab work done first. The first thing was that the appointment was for the middle of the day and the second thing was that our doctor was away that week and i was going to be seeing his assistant who just happened to be a woman! Don't get me wrong now, i have a lot of respect for women and know they are just as capable in medicine, business or whatever. But remember where on my body the problem is and for an old guy like me that is embarrassing. After a brief discussion about the weekend coming and Kim being concerned that something could happen she said, "you are going", and that was the end of that discussion.

By this time i only had about two hours before i had to leave and there was about two hours of work i had to do before i could leave. I finished what i had to do and at 1100 i headed out to see the lady doctor. To give you an idea how frequently i had to visit the boys room, i was concerned that i would not make it to Fort Walton with out embarrassing myself. With one little prayer and one pit stop i arrived without embarrassment. I went to the lab to pee in the cup and they also told me they were going to take some blood, for which i was not prepared. I did what i had to do and waited for an hour to see the lady doctor. After waiting with apprehension for an hour, hey I'm being honest here, i was called into the office. After a nurse took my vitals the doctor came in. She asked me a number of questions, told me she hadn't gotten the lab results yet but had a plan of action based on what she thought was the problem, a UTI and then started to put on the rubber gloves. Guys, you know what was coming next. She said, "drop your pants and bend over", those six words that bring fear into the heart of all men; well most. She said everything was normal in that area and i just needed to wait for the lab results. I was becoming less apprehensive now since there seemed to be a plan of action. After another wait the doctor called me in to tell me she had the lab results. She said some of the numbers were way off the chart and the lab techs even re-did the tests to make sure but with my CLL the numbers were not that unusual. She prescribed an antibiotic and told me that she wanted me to be sure to do a follow up after i finished the antibiotic because she was concerned about the readings.

Well it is Sunday afternoon now and i have been on the antibiotics since Thursday and there seems to be some improvement, thought i am still getting my exercise by running to the bathroom on a frequent basis. From what i understand, we caught the problem in the early stage but if we had waited there could have definitely been more serious repercussions. I am so thankful for my wife who knows me well enough that when i start telling her there is a problem she does not hesitate to take action. She is such a good caregiver that she will do whatever is necessary to take care of me. I think i am on the mend and i know she is watching me.

Countdown

Well, here we are in a new year with new challenges and new opportunities. Actually i am getting excited, as excited as i can get, because i can start to see that i may actually be able to realize my latest goal. All of you who know me have heard me say often that i have been counting down to retirement for the past two years. Now as i sit here and write this that countdown has come down to only three months and three days. I have to admit though that as this goal comes closer to reality i am also apprehensive. Working has been my life for almost fifty years, sometimes to the detriment of other areas of my life but that is a subject for a future blog. What am i going to do with the time that i would normally spend working? I am sure my loving wife has some ideas and i know they will be good ones but what else?

Aside from what i would do with this extra time i need to figure out if it is financially feasible and check into medical coverage. For quite a few months now i have been researching Medicare options and our spending habits to prepare for that big day. I don't know if any of you have ever looked into Medicare options but to give you an idea of how complicated it really is let me just say; it is run by our federal government. Enough said! Yesterday i met with a Medicare insurance agent to try to decide what would be the best option for me. After about two hours we finally decided and the application will be filed in February and i will officially be on Medicare May 1, 2012; step one completed.

I have already discussed my impending retirement with my present employer but not in depth. I am planning to have a more in depth discussion in the next couple of weeks. We have already discussed the possibility of my working part time, eliminating some of my present responsibilities and doing some that i actually like to do. The next step is to see how many hours i would work and if we can all agree. That will be step two.

Back to what i would do with the extra time i would have. One of the things i would like to do is just have time to do projects around the house. One day a week is just not enough. I could probably retire and just work around the house for a year before i could catch up on all the projects i need to do. In addition to that i would like to have the time to volunteer and do something to help others, both in and outside my family. All my life the majority of my time has been given to some company to help it grow and prosper. That has been very satisfying for me but now i would like to do something that actually makes a difference. Something that will improve someones life. I guess that will be step three.

Well there you have it. Does it look like the realization of a dream or the apprehension of a rambling senior citizen? I see it as both because i am both excited and apprehensive. One of the things that i am excited about is that my family is very supportive of my retiring and encouraging me to go forward and do it. Maybe it has something to do with the project thing. I know we won't have the financial resources available to help others as much as we can now but i believe that if i can have more of myself available, that is going to make my family very happy. I will continue to pray and seek God's will in making this decision as to what direction to go because that is the only way i will know i am making the right decisions.

Disney vacation part 2

Welcome back for part 2 of Disney vacation 2011. After a restful night sleep we awoke at 0600 on Tuesday morning ready for another day of fantasy. Kim once again prepared a nourishing breakfast, I cleaned up the kitchen while Kim got ready to go and we gathered up our stuff and headed out. We drove to Epcot and since it was early we were parked close enough that we didn't need a tram. We buckled on our fanny packs, yes both of us, and started toward the entrance to Epcot. We were standing on line with about twenty people ahead of us waiting for the park to open. Right in front of us were some geeks who were acting rather obnoxious but only among themselves. I could see that Kim was getting a bit annoyed but fortunately they opened the gates and we headed into the park. The geeks went left and we went right.

After a potty stop we looked for some attractions that we wanted to see. Epcot is a bit more low key than some of the other Disney parks but then we like low key. We went through some of the science type exhibits and some low key rides. For those who don't know; being tossed to and fro, hurtling along and stopping abruptly, turned upside down and the like is not my idea of fun. So we looked for rides and attractions that did not include any of the above. We participated in a turtle talk with Crush, boarded a clamobile on a quest to find Nemo and took a slow boat ride through greenhouses and fish farm. After that we got really daring and went on Soarin which was a free-flying hang gliding experience.

We strolled through the countries visiting displays that took you virtually through their countryside. It was fun and educational. We stopped and ate an overpriced lunch and continued on to experience more of the wonder that is Epcot. One of the nice things about going to Disney this time of year is that although there are still thousands of people around, there are not tens of thousands. Except for a forty minute wait for Soarin our wait time for other attractions was more like ten or fifteen minutes. Although we didn't have to do much waiting we did a lot of standing and walking. This started taking it's toll on my legs and back but i wanted to enjoy the experience so we would find places to sit periodically and then move on. We enjoyed Epcot but as Kim said we probably would not go again, but would use the time to visit a different park. After going on spaceship earth inside the parks huge icon at the entrance we decided it was time to leave.

We headed back toward the Villa and discussed what we wanted to do for dinner. We thought about going out to dinner but decided we would like to just go back and have dinner at the villa. Since there was nothing in the fridge for dinner, what would we do? We decided that we would stop and get dinner to go instead of eating at the restaurant. We ordered two dinners to go and headed back to our home away from home to enjoy a nice steak dinner. After dinner we cleaned up, showered, watched a little TV and prepared for a good night sleep.

Wednesday we had plans to go to the Mickey Christmas party which is a special night time party at Magic Kingdom for which you pay extra for the privilege of being one of the elite few, thousands, who got to enjoy the park after closing till midnight. This little party started at 1600 and you had to have a wristband in order to stay in the park after the official closing time. We wondered how they were going to enforce this but we found out that after regular closing there was wristband police patrolling the park making sure you had a wristband or get carted off.

This morning we awoke without an alarm since we had decided we were not going to go somewhere during the day in addition to the night time Christmas party. We woke up and had cereal and bananas for breakfast and then just enjoyed being in our little home. We watched some TV, did some reading and went to Walmart to get a few supplies and some lunch at Subway. We returned home to eat our lunch and just relax. Around 1500 we started getting our stuff together and prepared to go to Mickey's Christmas party. We arrived at the parking lot around 1600 and after a tram ride and a monorail we arrived at the entrance to Magic Kingdom. We received our wristband and proceeded to head for the party, let the party begin.

We had heard on the weather that there was a cold front heading this way Wednesday night into Thursday morning. Thankfully we took notice and prepared because it definitely got cold. It was a bit chilly all day Wednesday but now it was getting more than just chilly, it was getting downright cold. We started looking for attractions and rides that were inside so we could get warm. After enjoying a few of these and partaking of some hot chocolate that was being provided for the Mickey party group we went to stake out our spot for one of the main attractions of the night, the Christmas parade. I guess if you are going to see a Christmas parade you should be cold, and so we were blessed. Of course if you wanted a good spot from which to view the parade you needed to stake it out early which meant standing for a very long time. By the time the parade was over i was a hurting puppy.

After the parade, which was really great, we headed off to find a spot to watch the fireworks. Fortunately we found a spot where we could sit down and watch. We met another couple and their children who were from California and talked with them for awhile. While i guarded our spot Kim went off to find some coffee. She returned in a little while with two cups of the worst coffee we had ever tasted. Kim worked her way through the thickening crowd to return the vile liquid and she asked the servers if they ever drank the stuff. They replied that they didn't like the coffee and promptly refunded her money. After watching an awesome fireworks display we looked for someplace where we could get warm and perhaps get a decent cup of coffee. We found another hot chocolate station and sat for a few minutes warming up. It was starting to get late and we were getting tired and we were still cold. Kim wanted to shop for Disney stuff so we went to a couple stores, found what we wanted and headed back for the long trek to the car. After once again taking a monorail and tram ride we reached our car. We went home, unwound for a little while and collapsed into bed.

Thursday morning we awoke a little later, relaxed with some coffee, had some breakfast and gathered up our stuff to once again head out for another adventure. We had decided that we would go visit The Holy Land Experience which though not a Disney attraction was only about fifteen miles away. Kim had heard about this before we started our vacation and wanted to see what it would be like since it was recommended by a couple of people. Well, it was not exactly what we had expected. The various performances were well done and the actors seemed to be sincere. There was a lot of commercialism the overall look seemed to be a bit tacky in my opinion. You can read Kim's blog to see what she thought of the experience also. We ate another over priced lunch, watched some of the performances and saw some of the other attractions. We didn't stay too late as it was getting cold again as the sun hid behind the clouds and i left my jacket in the car.

We returned home and just chilled for awhile. Kim went on Facebook, i watched some TV and did some reading, which is exactly what i wanted this vacation to be. Kim found some leftovers in the fridge and heated it for dinner. We spent another quiet evening in the villa, showered and went to bed. We decided Friday would be a kick back day and we would not visit parks or anything but just enjoy a relaxing day at home. We had some breakfast,Kim spent a lot of time on the phone and i have been sitting here writing my blog. We will probably go out for lunch, do some preparing to get ready to go home, maybe take a walk and go out for dinner. I am thoroughly enjoying a very relaxing vacation.

Disney vacation

I am sitting here in our beautiful resort condo after a wonderful day at Disney's Animal Kingdom. Let me back up though to the start of our vacation. It actually started back around June when we made arrangements to pick the week and where we would stay. We were able to get this great place that we are staying in through friends of ours in church. Instead of going all the way back to the beginning I'll just go back to the first day of the actual vacation. Saturday morning after a rather stressful week at work I woke up around 0530 and was unable to go back to sleep. I got up and went to the kitchen to start the coffee. We had plans to go to breakfast and then go pick up our rental car so i figured i would wake Kim around 0700. She actually woke up earlier than that and after some coffee and getting ready we went to breakfast. After a really nice breakfast at the Coffee Shop we went to the airport to pick up our rental car.

When i got home with the car Kim was still not ready to go but then i really didn't expect she would be. After a little more primping packing and prodding we were ready to go. It was now around 1000 and we were ready to get on the road. After a short time of prayer we pulled out and headed for Disney. The GPS was programmed for our destination and the estimated time of arrival was shown as 1600 hrs. That was destined to change before we arrived.

The actual trip wasn't bad at all but at our age you need to make a few more pit stops than the GPS allows. We were doing fine till we got near Orlando and i misunderstood the direction given by that sweet voice coming from the GPS. We wound up going the wrong way on I4 but instead of yelling at me the sweet voice recalculated our position and suggested a few extra turns to get us back on course. I love modern technology. By this time it was getting dark, there was a lot of traffic, i had no idea where we were going and i was getting hungry. Needless to say i was starting to get a bit cranky. After pulling into a Walmart because that sweet voice sad we had reached our destination, we finally found the Polynesian Isle Resort. After checking in at around 1730 ET we checked with guest services to see where we could go to get something to eat. We got some perky gal who definitely had to much caffeine and tried to sell us a time share with the promise of cheap Disney tickets. Remember i said i was tired hungry and cranky? I very nicely made that clear and walked out with our room key and a map to the local eateries.

After bringing our luggage to our room we went to dinner and then returned to our condo. Kim absolutely loved the place. We took some pictures before we made it our own and just sat and enjoyed the peace and quiet. By this time, around midnight, we were really tired and just fell into bed and went to sleep. We awoke the next morning and i was starting to feel like i was on vacation. After a few cups of coffee and waiting for my bride to get ready we headed out for some breakfast and shopping. Since this place has a full kitchen we decided to go to the Walmart we saw last night and pick up some items we would need during the week. After shopping we headed back to the condo,unpacked and went out to tour the grounds which are beautiful. After our walk we sat out on our patio, did some reading, relaxing and just enjoying vacation. Now i felt like i was on vacation. Kim prepared a nice dinner that evening and then we just continued to relax, and i was loving it. We still hadn't decided what we were going to do concerning days at Disney, etc. We walked up to the office to see what tickets were available and the person there gave us a phone number to call at Disney to get some ideas. The tickets are very expensive and we wanted to see what possible deals were available. As Florida residents we were eligible for a discount and when we found out how much it would be our jaws dropped and we bought the tickets over the phone. PTL, He delights in His children's happiness.

On Monday we awoke at 0600 after a wonderful night of restful sleep to begin our day of Disney fun. We had some fresh coffee prepared in our own kitchen and Kim prepared scrambled eggs and banana bread for breakfast. She didn't make the banana bread, after all she is on vacation too, she bought it before we left home. We finished getting ready and headed out toward Disney. Where we are staying is about four miles from the entrance to Disney so we were there well before they opened. We found out where we needed to go to get our three day pass we purchased the night before and started to wait on the first line of many. We decided to start out at Animal Kingdom since we had never seen it before. We took the Safari tour, saw a variety of animals in the wild and enjoyed many of the shows they offered. We had a wonderful time and though we were tired we were still able to stand on our feet and walk back to the tram which would take us to our car. We had a great time, the lines weren't very long, the attractions were wonderful and though tired as i said, we weren't hurting as much as we thought from all the walking.

After returning to the condo, we prepared some grapes and cheese and crackers and returned to the patio and talked about our day and what we wanted to do tomorrow. We decided we would go to Epcot since that has a lot of the things we enjoy. Kim reheated some food we had in the fridge for dinner and after a nice shower i decided to sit and blog my vacation thoughts to this point while Kim goes and takes her shower. So far this is right up there with cruising. Stay tuned for further updates.