2018-01-13 - Saturday - Fast trip

Saturday we drove to Maryland to move Meredith to her new job. It was a quick trip and a long drive. 927 miles and two moves in two days.

I don't want to say that Meredith has been spending a lot of time outside in the cold, but when we came out of the hotel in the morning, she said that the weather app stated it was 4 degrees outside. Meredith said it felt more like 12. When I started the van, the thermometer said 11 degrees. That girl knows cold.

When we were taking the elevator I noticed there was no certificate of inspection in the holder. I can't imagine why they wouldn't put it in the elevator.

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2017-12-24 - Sunday - Festive shrubbery

On Christmas Eve I was outside grilling and noticed that the Harbor Belle dwarf nandinas were fruiting. It made me think even the shrubs were in the Christmas season (even though Karen and I are spending Christmas alone and I was grilling).

It was odd without the kids. Stephanie and Brett spent Thanksgiving with us, so they spent Christmas with Brett's family. Meredith couldn't get time off for Christmas until the 29th. We will all meet up in Pennsylvania after Christmas. That will be nice.

I love Karen, and we love spending time together, but it was a strange Christmas without the kids here. Binkley isn't here either, and he always LOVED Christmas.

We discussed going someplace for Christmas next year, possibly a cruise.

We'll see.

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2017-10-31 - Tuesday - Dickerson, MD

Tuesday we spent the day with Meredith, mostly shopping.

She showed us a wingless plane that someone has on their front lawn and told us it was the guy's man cave. Interesting...

While Karen and Meredith were shopping at Kohl's I found this in the men's section. Everyone needs a Pacman suit --with matching tie.

The ride back to Meredith's apartment was beautiful at sunset.

The view off Meredith's second-story back porch.

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2017-10-30 - Monday - Mugs and Maryland

Monday I started out drinking tea from a Shane Mickey mug. Not a bad way to start the day.

After that we headed to Frederick, MD to see Meredith since Tuesday is her day off. We stayed at a Courtyard by Marriott motel. I was struck by the retro decor and the odd layout of the room.

That's the door to the hallway in the left distance.

Convertible couch.

Even the hallway colors are retro.

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2017-09-02 - Saturday - Mom

This month (September) my mom turns 80, and mom and dad will be celebrating their 60th anniversary. To celebrate, she wanted to get the whole family together for dinner. Unfortunately Meredith couldn't get time off work, but the rest of us were there.

Stephanie, Brett, Karen, David, me, dad, and mom.

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2017-05-14 - Sunday - Meredith's new home

On Sunday we dropped Meredith's belongings off in Maryland at her new apartment and job. She is the barn manager at Destination Farm. She starts work on Monday after graduating on Saturday. No rest.

View from her back porch.

Full view.

The stalls.

More stalls.

The ring.

After leaving the barn we went to the Silver Diner for supper. They cater to all kinds of special diets by having a "Flexitarian" menu. Everything was very good.

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2017-05-13 - Saturday - Meredith's graduation

Saturday was Meredith's graduation day. It was marred by a steady rain and a really horrible lack of planning on the school's part.

Since the graduation takes place in a tent on the lawn a lot of the area surrounding the tent was under almost a foot of water. There wasn't anywhere near enough room in the tent for a majority of the families so we were herded into the cafeteria and others were sent to various buildings to watch the proceedings on projector screens.

Since we were watching the ceremonies on the YouTube feed instead of the direct one we lost audio shortly after the start. It was only by counting the names in the program that we even knew Meredith was coming up, since we couldn't hear her name announced.

We had to park about 1/4 mile from the cafeteria and most of the "shuttles" were open, 6-passenger golf carts with a roof. Now we know how the Gorton's fisherman feels.

This was a completely unacceptable way to treat the graduates and their families especially after paying an exorbitant amount of tuition for four years in anticipation of this moment. Due to a horrendous lack of planning we missed one of our family's biggest moments.

Now that I got all that out, let me say that we are immensely proud of our daughter for graduating cum laude with a 3.5 GPA and being on the dean's list for all of her semesters. I know she gets her beauty from her mother and apparently her intelligence too.

The day got better. We went for a nice lunch and then back to the house for cake. It's always nice to have the whole family around for these important moments.

After cake and celebrations we went to pack up Meredith's belongings from her apartment.

Tomorrow it's on to the next phase of her life.

Justin, Stephanie, and Ryan in the cafeteria.

Meredith on the big screen.

The big screen.

At the restaurant.

At the house.

At the apartment.

Goodbye to the apartment.

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2017-04-28 - Friday - McDowell Arts Center opening and Meredith with Breeze

Greg Scott and I were invited by Rick Crowley to be in an art exhibit at the McDowell Arts Center in Matthews. The opening was Friday night and it was fairly well attended. There was a lot of variety in the 2D and 3D art displayed.

My pots on the pedestals.

More of the room.

A great Alice in Wonderland set.

Meredith sent us some pre-graduation photos with one of her favorite horses. Breeze has been her pal for several years. He is a big puppy who likes to lick your face given the chance.

That's right, Meredith (our youngest) is graduating from college in May. How the time flies.

She has grown into a smart, beautiful young woman and is itching to start her new job managing a barn in Maryland after graduation. She'll excel at whatever she tries.

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2016-12-23 - Friday - Meredith's new ride

Meredith's 2002 Ford Escape was having more problems so she decided it was time for a change. She bought a 2013 Honda Accord (the bow was just a photo prop). She figures she will be able to make the payment more easily with all the money she will save on gas.

It's hard to believe that our youngest child will be graduating from college in the spring. Where does the time go?

She's already got a job lined up after graduation and we're very proud of her.


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2016-08-03 - Wednesday - St. Thomas

Wednesday we landed in St. Thomas.

Ryan and Mereditth.

These ships are huge and top-heavy.

Meredith, Karen, and Stephanie.

Iguanas were everywhere.

The bay.

The way out.

Photogs everywhere.

Lots to photograph.

I spent a lot of time watching the employees
goof around on the Flow Rider.

Lamb for dinner.

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2016-07-31 - Sunday - Cruising

Sunday we got on our ship, Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas to cruise the Caribbean for seven days. My in-laws came with us and we had eleven people all together.

We left out of Port Canaveral and were headed to Cococay in the Bahamas.

Our schedule was:
7/31 Port Canaveral
8/1   Cococay (Bahamas)
8/2   day at sea
8/3   St. Thomas
8/4   St. Maarten
8/5   day at sea
8/6   day at sea
8/7   Port Canaveral

These cruise ships are getting larger and larger and they carry a small city. The Freedom of the Seas is 1112 ft long, 185 ft beam, 28 ft draft, and has a crew of 1360. That's a small town by itself, add the passengers and you have a city.

Our cabin was 159 sq ft, and half of it was beds.
The kids bunks came down from the ceiling.

A Carnival ship left first.

Watching us turn around and head out.
Eva, Justin, Scott, John, Ryan, Meredith, and Stephanie.

The Flow Rider was fun to watch.

The main promenade inside.

Scott and Rich on the bridge.

Meredith and Ryan walking the deck.

Cruising off into the afternoon.

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