Back to Reality

In the meantime, things go on here. My mother is still in the throes of pain from post-herpetic neuralgia from her shingles. We've tried acupuncture and reiki, with varying results. She is able to manage in her own house since she is off the heavy-duty painkillers, but still not driving as she is somewhat weak. She is managing the pain to a degree, but it continues to plague her daily. I suppose that the actuall instances of pain are further apart, but it's hard for any of us to realize that as she winces and cries out. We've sort of woven that into daily life, though.

My sister and I took her on a five-day cruise from Baltimore to Bermuda at the end of July. As usual, it was great; it's really hard not to have a good time on a cruise. We ate dinner each night with a family (Cheryl, Keith and their son Zachary), and had a great time. We've heard from them a couple of times and hope to keep in touch. Zachary is six and in love with my sister. My theory is that with her blonde hair and height, to kids she is like a giant Barbie doll. In any case, we had a lot of fun.

Bob's father is not faring so well. He will be entering a nursing home soon, as his Alzheimer's has progressed to a point where Irene can't take care of him herself. It's was a rather turbulent spring and summer in that regard. Bill, Bob and Irene are working on that and have found a place for him that seems very good. The specialize in caring for people with Alzheimer's and seem to have thought of everything. We pray this works out okay.

Tomorrow is my first inservice day; reality bites!

Epilogue

Well, as you can see, the trip was fabulous. The best part was staying in touch with Chris, Roger and Rick as they finished all the way to Yorktown. Their descriptions of Kansas, Missouri, etc. will be very helpful to us as we plan the next leg of our trip. Ours will be somewhat different since we plan to pick up the new Underground Railroad Route, probably at Cincinnati, but we'll still be following in their wheel tracks for quite a way.

It was hard to make the adjustment back to reality. As Chris said, "Everything is so simple on the road." I can only imagine for them it was harder since they were gone for so long. The wonderful thing was feeling so strong and in shape; the challenge is keeping that.

Chris, Roger and Rick arrived in Yorktown on August 12. Jon and Bev, Chris and Roger's friends from back home, were there to meet them with "fizzy," as they call it, and a car covered with English flags. Rick left for Wisconsin and Rita on Sunday, but the other four ensconced themselves in a condo in VA Beach to enjoy a week's holiday. On Wednesday, August 16, we arrived in VA Beach in time for me to get a pedicure along with Chris and Bev at a nearby nail salon. I might make that a habit!

We spent a wonderful few days with them, romping in the surf, visiting Williamsburg along with the other tandem couple Sue and Charlie who had joined the group along the way, and laughing and eating. It was great to see them again, and meeting Jon and Bev we realized why Chris had been so sure we would all gel as a group. We firmed up plans to fly over to England next summer, so as the year goes on we'll look at calendars and get specific about dates. As always, a bike trip doesn't disappoint!