Bill and Cathy McArthur on the Road 2010: 6

  Monday, February 8 , started at 45 degrees. Cathy went to her morning exercise class and then to the gym for a step class. Bill finished the Sunday Times crossword between doing the Naples Daily News and Monday Times puzzles. We used our new coffee maker for breakfast and it performed well. Bill did leg curls and hamstring stretches. Then, he mixed Cytomax and got his kayaking gear ready for later. After an early lunch, Bill drove to the LVCC at about noon. Bill picked up an extra student workbook for us to use in preparations and a crossword puzzle book. Francisco was already in the center, working on the Ellis program when Bill arrived. Our room #7 was occupied by a group, so Bill and Francisco went into room #8 at about 12:20 PM. The tutoring session went well. Bill returned at about 1:45 PM and got ready for kayaking. He wore a wet suit because it was chilly and a bit windy when he launched at 2:11 PM. He headed down the east side of Naples Bay and along the shore of the ICW until he had paddled for half the time he had allotted. He ended up paddling for 3 hours and 18 minutes and 12.3 miles. Cathy met with her student Elda at 4:00 PM. We went to a 1 hour line dancing session at 6:30 PM. We had a quinoa and grilled chicken dinner later in the evening, while we viewed "House."

  Tuesday was a nice day. Cathy went to her exercise class. Bill went out for a low-key medley workout: 10K bike, 5K walk, 10K bike, 5K walk, 10K bike. Cathy joined Bill for his second 5K walk. Then, Cathy joined Carol and Jean for lunch and shopping. Bill made a couple of worksheets and a verb sheet for tutoring. He also printed neighbor Jan's Disney World Volunteer Voucher to a PDF file. We ate an early tortellini dinner and then went to the clubhouse at 7:00 PM. Cathy played bridge (2 tables) and Bill played bunco (6 tables). A cold front came through during the evening, bringing a couple of hours of rain.

  Wednesday was a chilly, breezy day. Bill was planning to go out for a kayak paddle, but didn't want to face the strong north wind. Cathy went to her exercise class and to the gym afterward. Bill worked on his lesson plan for tutoring and put files on a thumb drive. After lunch, Cathy did laundry while Bill went to the Classroom Plus store on Goodlette-Frank Road to buy a pack of sentence building tiles. Then he went to Office Max to get some files printed and finished his trip with a stop at Starbucks. Bill talked with Tom Reilly on his drive back and talked about dinner plans for the evening. Back at the RV, Bill talked with Son Bill and talked with Greg and Carol about a boat rental for the following week. We did a bit more tutoring preparation in the late afternoon. We walked over to Tom and Jean's RV at 6:30 PM and drove to the Cheesecake Factory at the Coastland Mall for dinner. Bill had a good Ahi tuna salad and Cathy enjoyed a large grilled Mahi Mahi entree. We were surprised that we were immediately seated at a table, but figured that the wind chill warning was keeping lots of customers away. A crew from Florida Power was working on an electrical problem across the street and turned off our electricity for 15 minutes. We ran our heater overnight because the temperature was due to hit the mid-40s.

  Thursday started at 44 degrees with very low humidity and light wind. Cathy went to her exercise class, while Bill waited for the morning to warm before heading out for a trial 3 mile jog to test his legs. Cathy drove to the gym for another exercise class. Bill put on hat and gloves and walked for a mile before running 3 miles at around 9 minute miles. Toward the end of the run, Bill's hamstring became slightly sore, but allowed him to finish the run and walk back without a problem. After an early lunch, Bill drove to the LVCC for his tutoring session with his student Francisco. He found that the center is closed next Monday. Francisco cannot meet on Tuesday instead, so we will miss the session. Bill had prepared his kayaking gear and hurried back, but found that the tide was wrong for an afternoon paddle. We drove to Homer Helter's Antique and Military Mall to get Cathy some "boot camp" garb for the campground's Mardi Gras parade on February 20. Bill researched thigh support sleeves with the thought of using them to help him with running until his hamstrings get better. We went to the bridge for Happy Hour. We caught up on "24" and "Lost" during and after dinner.

  Friday was cloudy, chilly, and windy. Cathy went to her exercise class and then to the gym. Bill went out in his kayak at 8:45 AM and did a power paddle for 8 miles:

The wind had really picked up by the time Bill landed. He got a long, hot shower after rinsing off his gear. After lunch, Bill drove Cathy to her tutoring session at the Golden Gate library. Bill went to Sports Authority and bought a pair of thigh wraps. He went to Target to use the Starbucks inside. When he returned to the library, Bill went into the men's room and put on the wraps. He was already wearing his calf sleeves under his jeans, so now he was really under armored (pun intended). Bill played around worked with his iPhone while he waited for Cathy to be done with her session. Just as we walked out of the library, the storms from a cold front hit. We drove back to the RV park in very heavy rain and wind. We hunkered down to wait out the rain and then had a pasta meal. At 7:00 PM, the rain was done as we walked over to Tom and Jean's RV to play dominoes. We finished last and next-to-last in a long, frustrating game. When we returned to our RV, we watched part of the opening ceremonies of the Winter Olympics.

  Saturday was chilly and windy. We drove to the Walmart Supercenter on Collier Blvd for some shopping. On the way back, we tried to go to the Naples RV Center for a new bathroom faucet, but they weren't open. After lunch, we walked downtown to Starbucks. On the way back, we strolled through an arts and crafts show in Cambier Park. At 5:45 PM, we walked by Tom and Jean's RV to pick them up for the Valentine's Day dinner/dance. We ate and then danced until the affair ended at 10:00 PM. We watched some of the Winter Olympics coverage before bedtime.

  Sunday started out cold and windy. Bill waited until 9:00 AM and then went out for a medley workout to test his legs. He left the watch at home and did an easy workout without pain. Bill decided to keep his workouts on the easy side and to continue to wear his thigh wraps as he continues his training. Bill ate a late lunch at 2:00 PM. Cathy had joined Tom and Jean for a look at a possible home buy in Naples. During the afternoon, our friend Marty Gross came over and asked Bill to help her buy a laptop computer. Bill ordered a good buy from Dell for her. Bill then spent a good bit of time trying to get his 2009 Turbo Tax software. Although he is on auto-renewal and his 2010 software is in the queue, his 2009 software was missing from Turbo Tax records. Bill found that Turbo Tax has a lousy web site and lousier customer service, but finally got his software. We had a quinoa and grilled chicken dinner while we watched coverage of the Winter Olympics. Bill finally finished the Sunday Times puzzle after working on it without help off and on all day. We watched the Winter Olympics for a while until bedtime.

        Bill and Cathy