Bill and Cathy McArthur on the Road 2010: 12

  Monday, March 29, started out very rainy as a cold front completed its passage across the area. Behind the front were temperatures in the high 60s and winds in the 20s. Cathy went to her exercise class and the gym. Bill went over to a neighbor Gail's home to try to help move some files and programs from a Windows 98 (First Edition) computer to a Vista laptop. He was frustrated at every turn as the two Windows versions teamed up on him to the tune of "Windows Sucks." He worked on the situation for a couple of frustrating hours and finally decided to try uploading the files to one of his websites and then downloading them. The Windows 98 machine has a dial-up connection and the laptop has a wireless connection. Bill ran out of time as we had a meeting with Jan, one of the campground owners, to discuss the purchase of a park model modular home. We had a good meeting and verbally committed to the concept, which will cost around $75,000. After lunch, Cathy went to her tutoring session. Bill didn't have his because Francisco had an appointment to keep, but he prepared for Thursday's lesson. We went to the last Country Line Dancing class from 6:30 to 8:00 and then had a quinoa/chicken dinner.

  Tuesday was a little warmer with lots of sunshine and lighter wind. Cathy went to her exercise class and the gym. Bill went out for a 5 mile tempo run:

He was very pleased with the overall run, especially the 4th mile. After Bill stretched, he signed up for the Naples Philharmonic 10K Run for the Music. After lunch, Bill went over to neighbor Gail's home and started an ftp upload of files from her Windows 98 machine. Cathy and Bill spent a while sunbathing as Bill periodically monitored the upload of files. We went to Hair 911 for haircuts at 4:30 PM. We stopped at Starbucks on the way back. We grilled burgers for dinner. Afterward, Bill went to Gail's home and downloaded the files to her laptop. We viewed "House" during dinner and then viewed "Lost" and "24" on iTunes on Bill's laptop.

  Wednesday was a sunny and warm day, except for a stronger than predicted north wind. Cathy went to her exercise class and then to the gym. Bill headed out in his kayak at about 10:30 AM. He noticed the wind and the full moon current right from the start of his paddle, but decided to paddle for 20 miles regardless. The first half of the paddle was fairly easy, but the way back was all hard work, against the wind and current. The plethora of huge yachts didn't help matters. Bill was tired and cold when he returned after 5.5 hours of paddling. He took a shower and then we went to Marty and Bud Gross's RV for dinner and euchre. We had a good time and returned around 10:00 PM.

  Thursday was a beautiful day. Cathy went to her exercise class. Bill went out for a medley workout: 10K bike, 5K run, 10K bike, 5k run, 10K bike. The bike legs were just about normal, but he kept the running legs on the easy side. While he was out, he had the thought that his medley workout was similar to a duathlon (run, bike, run). When he was finished and stretched, he registered for the Sea Isle Duathlon for Veterans on May 29. Son-in-law Phil will be doing the triathlon for the third time. Bill would like to borrow a slightly faster bike for the event. Afterward, Bill and Cathy went to the laundry room so that Cathy could help Marty with her email and Bill could help Camille to transfer files from one laptop to another. After lunch, we went to an April Fools party for an hour and then walked to the beach via Starbucks. We lay on the beach for an hour and then ate at Mangrove Grill on the way back. We sat at the bar and watched the beginning of the NIT championship game between UNC and Dayton. It was dark by the time we returned to the RV. After showers, we viewed "Lost" in spite of our malfunctioning DVR.

  Friday, Cathy went to her exercise class while Bill made a trip to Starbucks/Publix. We packed the XTerra and headed north at about 9:45 AM. We stopped for lunch at Woody's River Pub on the north shore of the Manatee River and enjoyed grouper "roobins" and sweet potato fries. We arrived at Marianne and Bob's at about 1:30 PM. Bob arrived at the same time that we did. It was a beautiful day, so we sat on the dock for a while and then had cocktails on the porch. We went to the Salt Rock restaurant for dinner and enjoyed wonderful tuna and grouper meals. We toured the site of Ryan's wedding at a Marriot on the water in Sand Key on our way back from dinner. We played euchre when we returned to the Bialas home.

  Saturday morning, Bill was up at 5:45 AM. He made coffee and ate breakfast before anyone else had stirred. Bob was up next, getting a couple of bicycles ready for the road. Bob and Bill went for an early morning bike ride over three bridges through Clearwater Beach and Clearwater. They stopped at Starbucks in Clearwater for coffee and watched Scientologists in uniforms walking around. When they got back, the four of us went to Publix for some shopping. We ate lunch and then drove to Sand Key for a beach walk. The tide was high and the tourists were abundant, so we tried to find a parking spot in Clearwater Beach, but couldn't. We headed back and spent some time on the dock during the afternoon. Later, we drove to Tampa amid slow going beach traffic and viewed a stirring performance of "Godspell." The drive back was easier as the traffic had thinned. We watched parts of the NCAA basketball semifinals before bedtime.

  Easter Sunday was a beautiful day. Bill was up early again, getting ready for his usual Easter run. The rest of the folks got ready to attend church. Bill headed out, walking 1.5 miles to Pinellas Trail. He went for a nice 10 mile run and then walked back to the Bialas home. The others came back from church while Bill was stretching on the dock. We had an Easter brunch, complete with dark chocolate bunnies. Afterward, we went for a cruise in Bob and Marianne's boat. Later in the afternoon, we used all four heads to solve the Sunday Times crossword puzzle. We had a great Polish Easter dinner and then went for a sunset walk over the new bridge to Indian Rocks beach. We watched some T.V. before heading to bed.

        Bill and Cathy