Bill and Cathy McArthur Spring/Summer/Fall 2006: 4

   We entered a period of unstable air, with infrequent rain and thunderstorms as June began. Bill was able to pursue his running, walking, kayaking, and bicycling in between storms. Dolphins pass by our house several times a day; Bill has been kayaking among them a few times already this season. Cathy joined in for walking and continued going to the gym for aerobics classes. In anticipation of the results of Lower Township's reevaluation, we had a Century 21 assessor valuate our property. He came up with a value of $962,000. We are concerned about a possible huge increase in our property taxes for 2007, but it will depend on the average increase in assessed value across all of Lower Township. We spent a nice evening with the former chef of Peaches Restaurant, George Pechin. We met for a great dinner at Gecko's Restaurant in Cape May and then enjoyed the excellent play K2 at the Cape May Stage. George has improved considerably since suffering a stroke a couple of years ago. We viewed the DVD, "Ice Harvest", a very entertaining black comedy. Bill started working on a project with Corey Gilbert of the Tides of Times gallery to offer a gemstone containing an interesting image on eBay.

   On Sunday, June 4, Don and Bern Ernakovich rode the ferry over for a visit. We ate lunch with a great view at Harborview Restaurant and then, after a stop at the Starbucks in Rio Grande, went into Cape May for a while. On Monday, we took a six mile walk in the rain. In the evening, we viewed "Match Point" on DVD; we found it a bit slow, but the scenery was great, and the story was very interesting. Bill worked on an invitation for a beach party that we will host on July 18. Bill has upped his running mileage to 4, hopefully on the way to 5. During a nor'easter on Wednesday, we went to see "The DaVinci Code', or as Bill calls it, "The Bonfire of DaVinci". We followed the long movie with a good dinner at the Crab Trap in Somers Point. We had a storm on Friday afternoon. Bill took advantage of some down time and cleaned out his upstairs closet. Also, Bill threw out piles of old computer books. We viewed "Firewall" on DVD. By suspending our knowledge of reality, we found the movie entertaining, but Harrison Ford was most definitely too old for the part. On Saturday, Bill ran for 5 miles in a howling wind. As he ran, he realized that "jowly" was the right word for "like a bloodhound" on the crossword puzzle he was working working on at home.

   Erin had a dance recital on Sunday, June 11 at West Chester University, Cathy's alma mater. The wind continued to blow as we left on Sunday morning to drive to Alex and Phil's house, where we met Rocky, the new Stoops family puppy. It was sunny, but somewhat cool from the wind as our group of 8, including Phil's parents, jammed into the minivan and drove to the WCU campus. The recital had 35 acts, but was very well run and was very enjoyable. We enjoyed hanging out at the Stoops' house for a while before driving back to the shore in late afternoon. We enjoyed an excellent dinner at Marie Nichole's in Wildwood Crest. When we returned home, we watched the season premieres of "Deadwood" and "Entourage", both of which had good starts. The week provided a mix of sun, clouds, and rain. Tropical Storm Alberto passed by out at sea and had only a rainy effect on us. Bill got out on Tuesday for a 5 mile run and an 11 mile paddle down to the third jetty of Cape May Point. On Wednesday, Bill attended a luncheon for a business meeting and volunteer recognition by the Cape May County chapter of the Red Cross. Bill finally met some people face-to-face that he'd been emailing and telephoning during the past year. By Wednesday afternoon, Bill was in the throes of a bad head cold. While we were hanging out in the solarium, we spotted 3 fox cubs at the side of the house; we assume that a fox family must be residing in the woods nearby. Bill spent the day Thursday resting and doing crossword puzzles. Bill rallied on Friday and was able to do a 6 mile walk. On Saturday, Bill ran the Cape May Point 5 Miler. Later in the afternoon, while Cathy was working, Bill cycled to Cape May Point and walked the beach into Cape May.

   On Sunday, June 18, we took a 6 mile walk in the morning. While Cathy was working in the afternoon, Bill paddled his kayak the on the 12 mile round trip to Pierce's Point. On the way back he had a tedious 6 mile journey with a south wind howling in his face and waves crashing on the bow of the kayak. Cathy suffered with a cold for most of the week, but still worked her shifts at the bookstore. Bill did his best to exercise: running on the beach and road, riding his bike, walking, and kayaking. We viewed the DVD, " The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada", which we enjoyed very much, although we find Tommy Lee Jones' style to be a bit too taciturn. On Wednesday, we picked up the RV and continued to set it up as our spare bedroom for the coming visit of the kids. We celebrated the Summer Solstice on Wednesday by enjoying the outdoors and especially the glorious sunset. As is normal for this time of year, we had to dodge thunderstorms. Bill's cell phone weather radar was a great help.

        Bill and Cathy