Bill and Cathy McArthur Spring/Summer/Fall 2005: 5

   The remainder of Memorial Day Weekend was beautiful and provided a couple of nice sunsets. We tried the Fish & Fancy takeout and had good fish meals. For various reasons, Cathy's bookstore needed her to work more than usual (since this is nothing new, can we call it "usual?"). We bought and planted flowers in our containers. The total bill for the non-labor part of our landscaping was $653. We got the RV out of storage and Bill spent many hours (again unpaid) to ready the water system and give the inside and out thorough cleansing. On Thursday after Memorial Day, we went to dinner at Restaurant 1919, the new version of the old Water's Edge. In a new location, but with the same owner/chef and many staff, 1919 provided us with outstanding meals. We enjoyed the ambiance better than the old restaurant.

   Our daughter Katie and our granddaughter Rachel arrived on Friday during the rainy afternoon. After just leaving Sarah, we found Rachel to be surprisingly big and alert. She has a ready smile and is curious about everything. She sleeps well at night, but does not like to take naps, probably because she doesn't want to miss anything. Cathy worked on Friday night and Tom arrived around 8:30 PM. He insisted that Katie and Bill go to a late showing of "Star Wars 3". Although they viewed the film in a small, low-tech theater, they were impressed by the sight and sound of the special effects. The movie was definitely aimed at the video gamers; Katie and Bill felt a bit overwhelmed by all of the action, but really enjoyed it.

   The family reunion continued with Alex, Phil, Bridget, and Erin arriving on Saturday morning. After lunch we spent some quality time on the beach. Cathy prepared a great meal of Shrimp Etouffe and we enjoyed a surprise sunset after a cloudy day. Katie and Tom celebrated their 7th anniversary. They have a famous engagement photo from a location very close to our house. Bill and Cathy used the RV as a bedroom suite so that Erin and Bridget could enjoy their own room. We were reminded of a time a few years ago when we slept on our former boat during a family visit. We enjoyed a great meal.

   Bill's niece Joan, her husband Paul, their daughters Jane and Elizabeth, his mother Margaret, Bill's sister-in-law JoAnn, Bill's niece Julie, her husband Dave, and their daughter Jillian arrived on Saturday and took up residence at the Pink Angel in Cape May. Paul's mother, Margaret, served a wonderful meal on Saturday night. On Sunday morning after a great brunch at the Pink House, all of the girl cousins got together on the beach at Cape May and enjoyed the hot weather, which continued all week. On Monday, after the beach, we hosted a cookout at our house. The week rolled on with lots of beach time and good meals. Bill's brother Bob and his daughters Lauren and Julia arrived at the Pink House on Thursday and joined in the fun. The crowd had a dinner out at the Ocean Grill and another at the outside area of the Lobster House. A smaller group returned to the Lobster House on Saturday night, after a fun day on the Ocean City boardwalk. Cathy worked most days at the bookstore, so we visited her there when we had a chance.

Thanks to Katie and Phil for supplying some of the photos.

        Bill and Cathy