Bill and Cathy McArthur Spring/Summer/Fall 2007: 1

   This is our first report of the time period between our winter trip (see http://www.capemaybeach.net/OnRoad2007/index.php) and the holiday season commencing with Thanksgiving. We are based in our home in Cape May Beach during these months of the year and, for the most part, don't want to be anywhere else, except for our scheduled cruise starting on April 2. When we arrived home on Tuesday, March 20, from a three months adventure in the RV, we found some chilly weather which is natural for that time of year. We unloaded the RV and Bill hustled to winterize it for the expected sub-freezing temperature Tuesday night. We enjoyed a sunset, a beautiful evening, and a tortellini dinner accompanied by high definition TV. We found that our phone line was useless with a buzzing noise on it and called Verizon to schedule a repair for Thursday. On Wednesday, Bill had intended to do several things, but we found that we had to get Brazilian visas and Yellow Fever vaccinations before our cruise. Bill made lots of phone calls and sent several emails before gathering enough information to put together visa applications. We took photos of each other and went to the new Office Depot in Rio Grande to get 2x2 photos for our applications. Then, we went to the post office in North Cape May and set the package via express mail to a visa expeditor in New York. Later in the afternoon we spent time on the phone to try to find someone to give us our vaccinations. We thought of calling Katie and Tom, but weren't sure that they made that particular vaccination; also, we needed proof to bring to the cruise. It seems that Senegal requires anyone arriving from Brazil to be vaccinated against Yellow Fever. We went to dinner at Lucky Bones and toured Cape May on the way back home. On Thursday, Bill had an appointment with Dr. Schutz the Urologist. He had shown a high PSA value of 10 in a blood test in December and wanted to get checked out. Dr. Schutz found no swelling in the prostate, which was good news. The doctor prescribed a month of an antibiotic, with a follow-up scheduled for June 4 to check the PSA again and to run a couple of ultrasound tests. On the way home, Bill stopped at Starbucks for breakfast. On arriving home, Bill found a Verizon repairman who said that he had found a problem at the pole. The man never entered the house. By the time Bill got inside, the repairman was gone and the buzzing on the phone line was a different frequency but still there. We called a couple of Verizon supervisors and left voice mail. The day became warm and sunny: springlike, in a word. After lunch we took a six mile walk along the Bay. We enjoyed basketball and a burger dinner at home. Friday was an off and on rainy day. We had a late morning appointment with a doctor near Stockton College to get our Yellow Fever vaccinations. We returned home to lunch. Bill decided to do taxes. He had to make a couple of calls to Turbo Tax support to get all of his materials together. By late afternoon, the taxes were done, signed, and in envelopes for mailing during the next week. We watched more basketball with dinner at home. On Saturday, March 24, we drove the RV to our Chevy Truck center in Vineland and continued in the XTerra to Katie and Tom's house in Doylestown. We all went to Nat's for some pizza slices for lunch. Bill, Cathy, and Katie took a six mle walk around the lake in Peace Valley while Tom worked out on his spinning bike and Rachel took a nap. Later, we took Rachel out on her bike for a while. We all went to dinner at Los Serapes, where we all enjoyed good meals, music, and service. Bill and Katie headed for Starbucks after dinner. All of the adults watched basketball when we got back together. On Sunday morning, we all went to Starbucks for breakfast. We returned home for some preplanning for a possible Yosemite trip in the fall. Then, we all went to lunch at a hoagie place in Doylestown. Bill and Cathy visited Kay Keeley at her nursing home after lunch. We headed back to Cape May Beach in mid-afternoon. The week before our cruise was a busy one as we make final arrangements, received our visas, went to the dermatologist, visited Don and Bern Ernakovich in Lewes, DE, and packed. Our weekend schedule was to go to Alex and Phil's on Saturday afternoon and fly out of Philadelphia on Monday afternoon, with a layover in Atlanta before the flight to Rio. Our flight itinerary:

DELTA 655 PHIL 02APR 2.09P ATL 02APR 4.35P
DELTA 61 ATL 02APR 8.40P RIO DE JAN 03APR 7.10A

LUFTHANSA 3389 ATHENS 02MAY 12.35p MUNICH 02MAY 2.05P
LUFTHANSA 424 MUNICH 02MAY 3.40P BOSTON 02MAY 6.05P
USAIRWAYS 1097 BOSTON 02MAY 8.30P PHIL 02MAY 9.55P

        Bill and Cathy