New England Road Trip

Hubby and I just returned from a two-week New England road trip. Before flying home, we spent time with our granddaughter in Jersey City, NJ. The last time we saw Reya was last January and she was only 18-months-old. She’s still very active but now she talks, a lot!

Our New England stops included New Haven, CT; Mystic, CT; Gloucester, MA; York, MA; Kennebunkport, MA; Ogonquit, MA; Perkins Cove, MA; Portland, ME; Bar Harbor, ME; and Stowe, VT. We had many amazing meals and tested a lot of clam chowder, eight bowls in all. Hubby ate lobster, while I discovered the deliciousness of Maine haddock. But the highlight of the New England part of the trip was seeing whales in Gloucester. It was cold and the water was rough. But it was a very memorable experience.

Butterfly Reya

Grandma brought ponies!

Gloucester House Restaurant

Whale watch cruise out of Gloucester.

Marginal Way, Ogonquit, ME

Portland Head Light, Portland, ME

View from our Bar Harbor room
at the Atlantic Oceanside Hotel.

Stewman's, Bar Harbor, ME

Now I'm in full-blown holiday mode. Hubby has hernia surgery scheduled for November 15. And we have a four-day trip planned for the end of November. So I need to get things done sooner than normal. This is when being super organized really pays off!

Enlarged Aorta Update

Wednesday's meeting with the aortic specialist at the Center for Advanced Medicine could not have gone better. All physical restrictions have been lifted and I'm now hopeful surgery may never be necessary if the beta blocker continues to keep my blood pressure under control. And, of course, I continue eating well, exercising regularly, and maintaining a healthy weight. I'll have yearly CT scans and visits with my cardiologist probably for the rest of my life. But, for now, things look good and I'm very grateful.

Enlarged Aorta

After an EKG, a stress test, two echocardiograms, and a CT scan over 18 months, it’s been confirmed I have a growing aortic aneurysm that might be genetic. I'll be seeing an aorta specialist soon. I had absolutely no symptoms. A routine EKG at my 65 physical gave the first indicator something was wrong. I feel fortunate to have a caring GP and cautious cardiologist, and to be living near “international” specialists. 

Updates

Wow! It's been a long time without any blog posts. I'm fine, just busy and enjoying new interests.

I'm very active on Instagram these days. I found a lovely group of like-minded ladies and we enjoy supporting one another as we manage our homes using the Flylady method. My Instagram account is @diannegerken if you want to check it out.

Between Southwest Airlines, Delta Airlines, and Hampton Inn points and affordable promotions, we have five domestic trips planned between now and the end of January. First up is our annual trip to Sanibel Island with my daughter's family, so that includes my two grandsons. That trip's fast approaching and we're all looking forward to it. This will be our tenth year.

The last of the five trips is my second visit to Universal Studios World of Harry Potter. My first time was when we gifted the trip to my now 12-year-old grandson for his last single-digit birthday. Now it's Jonah's turn. He turns nine in March 2019. Again, it will be me, my daughter, and one grandson. But this visit we will also be celebrating my daughter's 40 birthday.

Yesterday, Jonah got his Hogwart's letter with all the trip details. I love that I found the Hogwarts stationery years ago at a garage sale. The wand and owl are recent thrift finds.

Regular thrifting is a new interest. I've been doing some home redecorating and have been able to score amazing deals at Savers. I go on Tuesdays when seniors get 30% off their entire purchase. My main goal was to find better wall art, pieces professionally matted and often signed by the artist. I've been very successful and will share more in another post.

Before I sign out, I want to shared this picture of my granddaughter who lives several states away. Reya turned two last Saturday and we miss her terribly. Our October and December trips include travel to the east coast to give her lots of hugs and kisses!

That's a bit of an update. I'll work harder at posting more often. However, my next post probably won't be until August, after we return from Florida. Happy summer!