Bill and Cathy McArthur on the Road 2010: 24

  Monday, November 22 , Bill had planned to go striper fishing, but decided that there was too much to do around the house. It was a bit warmer, but still felt cold to us. Bill researched directions to the Amtrak station in Newark, DE and also checked out restaurants in the area of the train station. Bill went out and ran some errands which took most of the morning. He also did some Sun Salutations and crunches as well as stretching and massaging his calf. During and after lunch we viewed some more episodes of "24." The temperature reached 68 degrees when Bill headed out for a walk on the Lewes/Rehoboth Trail. He stopped at Starbucks and VP Shoes for speed laces. He gassed up the rental car after arriving back home. We left at around 5:30 PM for the drive to Newark. We arrived at about 7:15 PM, but were at the wrong side of the tracks. Bill had to cross over an overpass to get to Stacey and Sarah as they dismounted from the train. We drove into the "College Town" part of Newark on Main Street and ate at a good Italian restaurant, Cucina di Napoli. When we got back into the rental car for the trip home, Sarah immediately fell asleep. When we got home, Stacey and Sarah established themselves in the "American Room" upstairs and we all turned in.

  Tuesday morning, Bill was up at 5:30 AM. Sarah was down by 6:00 AM and asked for oatmeal, which Bill prepared with milk and brown sugar. Cathy and Stacey soon joined the crowd for breakfast. Bill did a weights, crunches, and stretching routine. Later in the morning, Bill, Stacey, and Sarah took the Moonbug, with the top down, and drove to Rehoboth Beach. They explored a few shops and got coffee. Then they walked the boardwalk. The temperature climbed to 72 degrees, so shirt sleeves were appropriate. Sarah played on the beach for a while and then the three went to Greene Turtle for an al fresco lunch overlooking the ocean. After lunch, they drove to Super Fresh for a two cart shopping trip. Then, they drove to the fish market for salmon filets. When they returned, Bill did an hour on the bike trainer. Stacey presented us with a DVD she made and we all watched it in the living room. We moved our clothes down to the basement for the duration. Bill also set up his computer in the downstairs office. As we prepared the salmon, Bill used a pair of tongs to extract a bunch of long bones. Stacey did most of the cooking. Alex and the kids arrived in time to eat dinner with the group. Just as dinner was over, Katie and Tom and kids arrived. The kids ate immediately and Katie and Tom ordered pizza from Grotto for delivery. We all talked for quite a while before heading for bed. We slept in the office on a blow up bed and our electric blanket.

  Wednesday morning found Son Bill, Billy, and Phil on the road heading our way. Son Bill and Billy had left Georgia at 1:00 AM. They arrived at lunchtime. Phil arrived during the morning. It was a chilly and windy day with lots of sunshine. Bill and Katie went to Superfresh for a shopping expedition. They picked up the 20.5 pound turkey and many other items. Bill made a big bowl of fruit for lunch with Cathy's guidance. After lunch, Bill, Katie, and Alex went to the Lewes/Rehoboth Trail for walking and running. Bill and Katie walked for a mile, ran for 3 miles, and walked for a mile. Alex did a different combination, but we all ended up at the car afterward for some stretching. Bill was happy that he was able to do the 3 miles of running at a 10 minute mile pace without any calf problem. Bill had laid out a very conservative schedule of running prior to the Disney Marathon in early January. The basic idea was to take 2 days off from running between training runs, filling in with cycling and kayaking. He had worked backward from a proposed 20 mile run with Son Bill on Christmas Eve and came up with the schedule of runs: 3, 5, 10, 6, 13.1, 8, 15, 9, 18, 10, 20, 9, 18 ending on December 30. We had chili for dinner with the whole family enjoying the meal and each other. This was a fabulous way to end this portion of our narrative. We continue with "Happy Holidays 2010."

        Bill and Cathy