Bill and Cathy McArthur Spring/Summer/Fall 2007: 7

On Wednesday, August 29, we hosted a kayaking party for a small group of Cathy's former teaching colleagues. We spent the morning getting everything ready and found time for a 4 mile walk before lunch. Joann, Dianne, and Margaret arrived shortly after 2 PM ready to do some paddling. We took the Manta, the Necky, and the Malibu II out and headed toward the Canal. It was gorgeous out with a slight breeze. Diane decided to chill out in the Manta about 1/4 mile off of Angel Point. The rest of us paddled down to the Canal and greeted a ferry which was coming into the Canal. When we arrived back at Diane, she told us that she saw two big Loggerhead turtles, one on each side of the kayak. We all arrived back around 5:00 PM, just in time to open the bar. Faith and Mark arrived and then Margaret's husband Jim arrived to complete the group. As we drank cocktails before dinner, beautiful WWII bombers from an air show at Cape May County Airport flew in over the house and gave us a close look. It was very dramatic. The sunset and the dinner were fabulous. Joann had made a wonderful Eggplant Parmesan from vegetables that Diane had supplied. Some of us ended up sitting out on the deck in the dark looking at the lights on the Bay. On Thursday morning, we packed for our trip to Michigan. After lunch, Cathy went to the bookstore to work. Bill walked for 15 miles in 5 hours. It was hot and sweaty, but not too humid. Bill drank 2 quarts of electrolyte and 2 quarts of water and ate 2 PowerBars during the walk. Bill ate the rest of the Blueberry/yoghurt pie for dinner and hit the bed early. Thursday morning came early: 2:30 AM. We got ready and left the house at 3:00 AM. We made it to our hotel in Plymouth, Michigan just before 2:30 PM. Our room was huge and well-appointed. Bill took a shower and then setup his computer. He also called Diane from Water's Edge Motel about some computer problems that she was having. At about 4:30 PM we drove to Detroit Metro airport to pickup Katie from her Spirit flight. As usual, the flight was early and we met after a quick cell phone call. We stopped back at the hotel briefly and then drove to our neice Lauren's home in Canton for a catered BBQ as "rehearsal dinner" for many guests for her wedding to Daren Harris. We enjoyed seeing many members of Bill's extended family and meeting Daren's relatives and friends. The meal was served in a big tent in the backyard. We decided to leave at around 9:00 PM when the mosquitos carried us to our car. Our GPS navigator helped us find our way back to the hotel. We met Bill's brother Bob and sister Joan in a group for breakfast in the hotel restaurant on Saturday morning. During breakfast, we decided to take Bob's wife Marty with us to Ann Arbor, where she had gone to college at the University of Michigan. We dressed in walking clothes and met Marty in the lobby for the drive to Ann Arbor. Marty gave us a guided tour of the town and the campus. We walked by Michigan Stadium (the "Big House") as the game with Appalachian State was getting under way. We heard that the score was 7-7 and wondered how Appalachian State had scored on the 5th ranked team with 2 Heisman Trophy hopefuls on it. We didn't know that Appalachian State would beat Michigan that day in an unprecedented upset 34-32. The day was beautiful and warm. We headed back toward the hotel around 1:30 PM and ate a light meal in Caribou Coffee. When we reached the hotel, Bill, Cathy, and Katie did some walking in the hotel gardens. Then we returned to the room to get cleaned up and dressed. We drove the short distance to Northfield Country Club for the 5:30 PM outdoor wedding ceremony (videos: 1,2 ). It was a bit warm from the bright sun during the beautiful ceremony, but still wonderful to be outdoors. The reception was well done (videos: 1,2 ). Bill's Sea Bass was very good as a bit of a surprise. We did a lot of dancing before leaving a bit before 10 PM. After we had settled in for the night, someone called our room at 12:15 AM asking for Erin or Aaron. Bill groggily had to think about it before saying no. Bill and Katie arose at 5:00 AM on Sunday morning for the ride to the Detroit Metro airport. Katie arrived in plenty of time for her 7:00 AM flight, which actually left 5 minutes early. Bill returned to the hotel and worked on photographs. We met Joan and Ralph and Bob and Marty for breakfast in the hotel restaurant. Later, after checking out we went to a brunch at Lauren and Daren's house. We enjoyed talking with the other guests who were still in town. Finally, around 1:00 PM, we headed home after an extended set of goodbyes. It was a great wedding weekend with better weather than anyone could have expected. We drove in light to moderate traffic until 6:30 PM when we stopped at the Hampton Inn in Somerset, PA. We ate a hearty dinner at the Pine Grill, where we got a 10% discount from the Hampton Inn. On Labor Day, we arose at 5:30 AM and were first in line for breakfast at 6:00 AM. We were on the road by 7 and had light traffic the whole way home. The Shore traffic going the other way was intense as we traveled through NJ. We stopped at WaWa for lunch stuff and ate on the deck. The weather continued to be lovely. We took a 6 mile walk and cooked burgers for dinner. Bill viewed "300" and thoroughly enjoyed it. On Tuesday morning, September 4, Bill worked on the Cape May Red Cross website. We went for a 4 mile walk. After lunch, Cathy went to work at the bookstore. Bill walked for 9 more miles. A co-worker of Cathy's came by after 6:00 PM to borrow our double kayak. Then, Bill rode his bike to WaWa for a hoagie. He enjoyed "Superman Returns" on HBO. The good sound and special effects covered up a weak plot. On Wednesday morning, Bill visited a client in Wildwood. We spent a good bit of the day preparing for our trip. Bill kayaked to the Canal in the afternoon. On Thursday morning, we prepared the house for our absence and packed. We walked for 4 miles before lunch. After lunch, Bill dropped Cathy at the bookstore. He walked for 6 more miles in the afternoon and finished packing. Bill picked up Cathy at 9:15 PM, set two alarms, and went to bed. We went on our trip to California starting on Friday, September 7 ...

        Bill and Cathy