Virginia Beach

 Well,  we took the long way, but we finally made it to Virginia Beach!  We were planning to spend a couple of nights here on our way home,  but it is REALLY hot. .. Not much fun in a cast.

I think our plan is to drive home early tomorrow and spend a nice, long weekend at home enjoying our yard.  If anyone hears about a 'worst vacation contest' let us know!  I'm thinking that winning a trip to Hawaii might not be so bad!

Charleston, SC

We've decided to modify the plan a bit, based on happenings during the trip. We drove to Charleston, SC. It has a very charming downtown.  We're at a brew pub getting some dinner now.
Grant now has a removable cast.  He says,  'pluses and minuses.'

Maggie was very glad, during the drive, that she was allowed to sit on Grant again.

Florida Museum of Natural History

 Grant and the ele-phant. I know. ... it's really a Mammoth.  But that doesn't rhyme.

Megalodon

Hey Gaia!

Awww C'mon!

Grant's arm is feeling much better today.  He was able to turn oft his catheter pump in the morning, and a high dose of Advil was working for him.  Late in the morning, we called the doctor to have him walk us through removing the catheter.  Half way through this process,  the fire alarm in the building went off, and we had to evacuate! We called the doctor back from the comfort of our van and got the catheter out, unfortunately, we had left Grant's ice pack in the room.  We pulled into a CVS and begged one from the pharmacy, then headed to Kohl's to kill some time and find some large-sleeved shirts for Grant.

I think we'll head off in search of lunch,  and then a museum.

A Little Better

Grant is doing a little better with pain today.  The girls and I have been taking advantage of the pool and going for a couple of swims a day. I'm hoping Grant will feel up to an (air conditioned) outing by tomorrow.  There is a natural history museum affiliated with the University that is supposed to be pretty good.

It's a Shame Maggie is so Stressed Out

She seems to be taking this whole thing pretty well.

Skelegro

Harry Potter was right. ... skelegro IS very painful.

By the time Grant finished up with the surgeon and we had some dinner last night, I headed out to fill his prescription for pain med.  Unfortunately,  the DEA number on the perscription was wrong, and the pharmacy couldn't fill it for me. I sent a text to the surgeon (he had given me his cell number before he headed out with his family for the holiday weekend.). He wrote right back and said he would take care of it. I headed back to the hotel to deal with this in the morning (Grant still had some of the previous perscription left).

This morning, I headed back to the pharmacy,  but no luck. Then I drove to the surgery center. ... They were closed for the holiday weekend.  My next stop was the ER. They couldn't replace my perscription without seeing Grant. So,  back to the hotel to drag Grant back to the ER (there was no wait! )  After about 45 minutes, we managed to get a perscription that could be filled.

I learned later that, shortly after my text, the surgeon had another medical emergency he was consulting on, and he had forgotten our perscription.  He apologized. ... several times.

Grant is being very stoic about the pain, but I can tell he's VERY uncomfortable.  Hopefully tomorrow will be better.  The experts seem to think this will be the worst part today.

surgery went well

Grant's surgery went VERY well.  The doctor said it went beautifully,  and he's expecting the out come to be quite good. He showed us the films after the operation and,  to the untrained eye, it looked very nice! Everything seemed to line up very well.    The entire surgical staff were very nice,  and were offering suggestions for things to do with the family in Gainsville, and even offering to pet sit.  We're planning to stick around the area until Monday so that the same doctor can put a new cast on Grant.  It sounds like they plan to put him in a removable cast, which will make getting dressed,  etc. much easier.  We're glad we decided to have the surgery here instead of following the hurricane home with Grant's arm in too many pieces. Grant will be on a catheter pump for pain for the next 3 days. Hopefully that will make the short term recovery easier.

Kanapaha Garden and Lunch

After getting surgery scheduled for Grant,  we were feeling a little more relaxed. We decided to do some easy exploring in the Gainsville area. We discovered Kanapaha Botanical Gardens. It is quite a gem.  Maggie was glad to find out dogs were allowed, so she could stroll with us instead of riding in the bag.

Grant picks up a hitchhiker.

Feeding Koi at the children's garden.

Lovely air conditioning in the guest house.

Linda Vista Mexican food for lunch.

They mix the guacamole at your table. ... Fresh!

Holed up in Gainsville

We headed to the 'nature coast'.... You know. .. The armpit of Florida.  We went to manatee Springs for a swim.  The water was very pretty. .. kind of the color of glacial water.  Grant and the girls headed to the water while I waited my turn with maggie.  About 3 minutes later,  Sarah came running toward me in tears and said,  'dad broke his arm.' It turns out the steps at manatee Springs are VERY slippery.  He dida real number on it! He also reset it himself (yes. .. My husband IS a bad@$$).  The nerves and circulation seem to be fine.  The ambulance took him to the nearest trauma center in Gainsville. We're seeing a hand specialist today.  We'll know later today if he's going straight to surgery or we're headed back to Boston for surgery there.
We're doing fine (other than the whole broken arm thing) and we'll keep you posted about our plans.

I still haven't seen a #! $$%&* manatee!

Fernandina Island

 After snagging the last campsite at Fort clinch state campground, we went into the kitchy section of Fernandina for an ice cream.

 This campground had the Cleanest bathrooms of any state park I have ever seen... And air conditioned too.

 Sunset over the inter coastal waterway.

 We saw a turtle and an armadillo in the campground.

 Clearly,  they intended to allow people to sit on these benches with their pets. I'm sure the placement of this sign was an oversight.

Big Talbot state park.

South of the Beltway

After listening to the girls and grant say 'Mario cart 8' in high pitched voices all the way around the Washington beltway (a nod to their latest video game), it was a nice drive from richmond, va to Fernandina Beach fl.

Richmond, VA

 We had a great outdoor dinner at Station 2 in Richmond, VA. They let us sit on the patio with maggie.

Grant found a disc golf course after dinner.

Lunch. ..

At Wegmans. Beats fast food!

Grant Develops a Tongue Twister

Disclaimer: there is no spell check on this thing.
Try this. ..
Indubitably Indelible Delaware Blueberries

On the Road Again

We hit the road at 4:22 this morning.

E.T. Style

We're starting to pull together things for our trip. Maggie wanted to make sure she didn't get left behind!

Lunch at the Local

Laura had many end-of-year parties with friends from school, so Grant and Traci took Sarah to The Local for lunch over the weekend.

Trying out the SUP's

 Yo....SUP?
It turns out Maggie is pretty comfortable on paddle boards by now.  Traci and she launched from the "death bridge" in Medfield MA.  For the story behind the odd name, try this:

http://hometownweekly.net/the-bridge-of-death-p7413-137.htm

Captain Maggie
We reached one point along the Charles, and it smelled like "low tide."  As we rounded the bend, we came across cows!

Ah ha!

Vacation Practice

We ended a beautiful weekend by going disc golfing at Borderlands State Park in Easton, MA.

Then we picked up Subway and pulled off at Turner Pond in Walpole, MA for lunch.

Practice for summer vacation!

Gearing up for the next adventure

Maggie is packed and ready to go! She's a little ahead of schedule...The girls are still in school. Stay tuned! We're heading to the Florida coast to explore this summer.