Wrapping Up A Vacation

It's late afternoon here on the coast and we are putting our finishing touches on our beach vacation of 2016. Tomorrow morning we all start our journey home.

My goals for this vacation were simple. Sit back relax and heal some more. Yea, I threw in some other odds and ends but they were just added bonuses. I would like to think that I accomplished all of my goals, but only time will tell.

Tonight we head out for a nice dinner together and then tomorrow morning we need to be out of the beach house by 10am.
There are always tears, but it gets followed by the excitement knowing that this group in one form or another has been making this trip every other year for the past 18 years. The faces may change but the journey remains the same.

Two years from now, when we get back here, a new generation of our family will be experiencing this getaway for the first time...

Now that is something to look forward too. 

In my mind I'm going to Carolina. 

Can't you see the sunshine, can't you just feel the moonshine.

Ain't it just like a like a friend of mine to hit me from behind? 

Yes, I'm going to Carolina in my mind.

(Carolina In My Mind. James Taylor)

Good Morning From The Beach

We all made it safe and sound.
Today is our second full day here and it's been amazing. We have had days filled with sunshine, walks on the beach, smiles and the ocean. At night we play games, listen to music and fill the house with laughter. Just what the doctor ordered.
Our first night we were even treated to a thunderstorm that rolled up the coast and shook the house.
Last night my son and I went for a stroll on the beach. OK, I went for the stroll, he was Pokémon(?) hunting. I guess we caught three and we didn't even bring bait.

Speaking of fishing...

I met this little guy while walking on the beach yesterday. He lives in Tennessee and he is 4 years old. This was his first time to the ocean and his first time fishing. His older brother had already caught a fish so he was sad that no fish had taken his line. Yet, he knew one would because now it was "his turn". Sure enough, while I was there he had hooked on to his first ever fish. So when I took this picture, the battle had begun.
The fish he caught was no more than four inches long and looked more like a mouse that it did a fish. But it didn't matter to him. He had caught his fish. He had even struggled to bring it in on a full size fishing rod because that was how his brother caught his. He helped to unhook the fish and he released it back into the water.
Then he yelled, he cheered and danced in the water.

Depression is something that I have struggled with since the operation. You have your plan and you do your best to stick to the plan. All the while knowing that life doesn't care about your plans and the wheels can come off your plan at any moment. My plan has been derailed so many times. You just adjust the plan and start over. It just sucks.
Even here at the beach it creeps back in. It is just always there.
My doctors check on it and we talk about it every time I see them. They have not put me on anything for it as of yet but we are talking about it.
Yet after watching that little guy yesterday, maybe I am going about this all wrong and just maybe I need to take a page out of his book.

Maybe I just need to yell, cheer and dance a little bit in the ocean.

So let's sink another drink
'cause it'll give me time to think
If I had the chance, I'd ask the world to dance
And I'll be dancing with myself
(Dancing With Myself  Billy Idol)

And We're Off.... Sort of..

At 5:30 this morning vacation started for real. The crew got shaken, awakened and rousted. The final contents were stowed in the rented minivan. The remaining space in the van was then filled with excited, yet sleepy passengers. Then I waved goodbye as they started their journey eastward and went back to bed.

Wait! You thought I was going on this vacation too?
I am... I'm just flying!

This is actually day three of my vacation. The first two were filled with trying to get things done around the house. My car needed repair work done. The lawnmower had died and needed to be fixed The lawn needed mowing. One of the mopeds needs a new tire. Just the odds and ends of things that needed to get done. And as I would get things accomplished I would reward myself with a beer. People who know me shouldn't be surprised by that last comment.

Now I did bike eight miles yesterday. Not really by choice though. As I mentioned my car needed to be repaired and the shop that did it was eight miles away. Since I was the only one off of work yesterday there was going to be no one around to give me a lift when I needed to go get my car. So I told my wife that I was going to ride my bike to get it. She sort of laughed at me. I reminded her that I did that many times as a youth, to which she reminded me that I was no longer a youth. So I did it.
It took a little over an hour to get there and I only had to push my bike up a couple of "steep" hills. In my defense when I arrived at repair shop and the owner saw that I had biked, he asked where I had biked from. I told him Hanover, to which he replied "Oh my god that is up hill all the way". He didn't sound like he was being sarcastic and I hadn't paid for my repair yet, so I think he was serious.

Today there are few last minute things to pack that I will need to carry on the plane with me. A few minor things to finish up here and then it is off to the airport for my flight at the buttcrack of early tomorrow. Next stop, the beach.

I have to admit though, this morning, as I was packing the final contents into the van. I was struck by a sense of loss that I was not making the journey with them. I would miss this part of the adventure. Then I saw how stuffed the boys were in the back seat and though "Nope, I am good".

I guess I just don't have the stomach for it anymore.... :-)

So much as come before those battles lost and won
This life is shining more forever in the sun
Now let us check our heads and let us check the surf
Staying high and dry's more trouble that it's worth
In the sun..
(Road Trippin'    Red Hot Chili Peppers)

Setting My Sails Towards Vacation

In a few weeks we will heading back to the coast of North Carolina.

We have rented a beach house on Topsail Island. This is a trip that our family takes every couple of years and the coast of North Carolina is the place where we go to unwind, regroup, and reconnect.

My goals for this vacation are pretty simple.

1. Continue to heal.
I could say that the healing portion of this journey has gone smoothly, but that's not the case. I am still getting food stuck, throwing up and experiencing dumping. I want some time where I can just sit and be. I don't want any drama. I don't want any doctors poking or prodding me. I just want a place where I can relax and let whatever still needs to heal, heal.

2. Read a book or two by authors I have never heard of.
Not just any book. I love a good mystery. So my goal is to find a couple of local authors who write mysteries set along the North Carolina coast. If the books are set in Topsail even better, but I will take anything written about the coast.

3. Listen to music.
If you read this blog, you know that I enjoy listening to music. My iPod has everything from Disney show tunes to Frank Sinatra, to CCR to Dave Mathews and Disturbed. What I listen to depends on my mood and what is going on in my life. So for this vacation my iPod has been loaded up with over 6,000 tunes to carry me through the week. Music wise I think I am good.

4. Find a new beer or two (or more)
Working at the liquor store gives me the opportunity to try and experience new beers. The only challenge is that for the store to have them they need to be distributed for sale into our area. That eliminates a lot of beers, from all over the country, that are not widely distributed. So my goal is to search out local beers that I can only find in North Carolina. No list, No searching for any specific beer. Just walk in and say "what do you have that's local" and give it a try. Life is too short not to try something new.

5. Enjoy the family and friends.
With everything that has happened, our family dynamic has changed and continues to change. Heck, we are going to add a grandchild next year. God, I love saying that. However, who knows how many years we are going to be able to keep making this trip. Time changes all, and this year our family is different than the family that was there two years ago. Two years from now it will be different yet again.

So we will enjoy the beach, enjoy the ocean and enjoy each other's company.
The beach is callin' and I am heading out...

Where it all ends I can't fathom, my friends.
If I knew, I might toss out my anchor.
So I'll cruise along always searchin' for songs,
Not a lawyer, a thief or a banker.
(Son of A Son Of A Sailor  Jimmy Buffett)