Busy Week and Lots of Travel

We managed to see some of the autumn colors

    Saturday, I borrowed Ann’s car to pick up Pete at the Marina. We had to pick up the rental car by noon. After leaving Hertz, Pete realized that they didn’t give him the paperwork.  That meant after returning Ann’s car, we needed to return to Hertz, before picking up Bailey and starting our trek north. Even with packing in advance, we weren’t on the road until after 12.  Thankfully, we have hotel reservations in Savannah, 6 hours away.

Riley and Hadl having a great time
Kel knows how to capture the great smiles from these two!

     With an early start, we were at Chris and Kel’s in Pennsylvania by 6 on Sunday.   They have a pizzeria not far from the house that makes the best lasagna, so we brought dinner with us.  It is amazing how much Riley had grown in the 3 week since we’ve seen her. She is be the happiest baby I have ever met.  All she does is smile, talk, eat and sleep.  At five months, she is almost 19 lbs.!  Hadi continue to charm us with her conversations and her dress-up. Tonight, she dressed in Bell’s golden ball gown, pink leggings, her fairy wings, a floral wreath with ribbons on her head, her Hawaiian lei, and two fairy wands!  After all, she has to practice dancing for Uncle Greg’s wedding!  The biggest surprise was with Echo, their dog.  He suddenly went blind two weeks ago.  He is still cautious when navigating around the house, but still has his sweet and loving personality.

     Monday, we were up and out by 9.  The dress I liked, but no one had, was ordered in September, allowing me first right of refusal. We were at Claire’s Bridal in north Wilmington by 9:45 and waited for the shop to open. Thankfully, the dress fits perfectly, except for needing the hem shortened (I can’t believe that!)  I was worried as the wedding is only a little over a month away!

     A quick stop at Christiana Mall to pick up Pete’s repaired Watch. Unfortunately, not everything requested was done, so it will be worked on and hopefully, be ready by our Christmas visit. Then it was down to Pete’s mom.  We had planned to take her to lunch, but she felt the groceries were more important. Sooo… I shopped while Pete and Bailey visited. 

Riviera Marina st sunset

    We were on the road again by 3 and stopped in Florence, NC for the night, before continuing to West Palm.   This is the first time we have broken up the trip with overnight stops rather than driving straight through due to same day commitments.  It might make for a longer day, but we prefer doing it in 1 day.  2 days make it seem like forever!

Moments later, the sky is ablaze with color

     Wednesday, Pete needed to catch up on work.  I did laundry,then found a farm store about 40 minutes north of here that carries the dog food we use for Bailey.  It was a cool ride through cattle and horse country.  I even saw my first “Private Equestrian Community!”  The store was small, but had a huge storage facility and loading dock.  Lots of bales of hay, horse feed, chicken feed and coops, enclosures, etc.  And yes, they had our specific dog food.  On the way home, I stopped in Palm Beach for groceries.  My car was the only dirty car in the whole lot!  It didn’t quite blend in with the shiny Teslas, Mercedes, Lexes, Beemers, and Cadies.

     With Ann under doctor’s instruction to limit standing, Howie and I prepared Thanksgiving Dinner, while Pete headed up the clean-up detail. Delicious dinner, great company and enjoyable day.

From our home to yours.... Hope it was wonderful and delicious!

     Pete was able to run some errands while I scrubbed the interior of the boat. When we arrived here in West Palm, Pete thoroughly cleansed all the salt off of the exterior of the boat, but the interior needed some attention.  He enjoyed exploring the Boater’s Warehouse only a mile or so from the marina.  He also needed to drop off a shirt at the cleaners.  He and his partner will be in California for meetings, Monday through Wednesday and needed something a bit more presentable than jeans or shorts!       

     Saturday, we needed to pick-up the shirt, but not until after one.  We opted to get a new helm seat at the Warehouse and then head out to check out stores for my shoes for the wedding. I found a beautiful and comfortable pair at the mall.  Now I need to arrange a taylor/seamstress to do the shortening.  Thankfully, Ann knows of a couple.

     Pete packed for tomorrow’s flight before we went to meet up with Ann and Howie for lunch. Being Thanksgiving weekend, travel will be heavier, the security lines longer, and traffic to the airport at 6:30 am abysmal. After we see J.K. Rowling’s newest cinematic addition to the world of magic, FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM, I dropped him off at the hotel by the airport.  The movie theater had recliners for the 50 or so seats in the theater!  What a way to watch a movie on the big screen!  

     Bailey was really glad to see me when I finally got home around 10 pm.

~ ~ ~ /) ~ ~ K & P