Bill and Cathy McArthur Spring/Summer/Fall 2009: 8

    Monday, June 29, was another day of unsettled weather. A pesky west wind blew much of the day. We both had dentist appointments at 8:30 AM with no problems detected. After lunch, we vacuumed and washed the XTerra in Rio Grande. Then we went to Lowe's to replace some of our container flowers. After we got home and planted the flowers, Bill took his Yak Board down to the beach and played in the Bay waves for a while. We went to a special presentation at Cape May Stage of a spoof history of Cape May - silly fun.

    Tuesday morning, Bill had a meeting with our land-use lawyer concerning subdivided our property. The next step is another meeting in the near future. Cathy went to an appointment with a Ear, Nose, and Throat doctor concerning her tinnitis. Bill went out for a warm, humid, 5 mile run. He tried to run the first 5K a bit faster and then eased off. Here are his split times:

We had lunch on the deck. Cathy went to the gym for the 5:30 PM aerobics class, picked up by her friend Beth. Bill joined her for the 6:30 PM Zumba class. The gusty wind and spotty storms caused us to put on the air overnight.

    Wednesday, July 1, was Bill's 69th birthday. He started the day by having to scrub a kayak circumnavigation of Cape Island due to T-storms coming up from the DelMarVA peninsula. Cathy went to the gym. Son Bill's daughter Sarah and Alex's son Garrett sang "Happy Birthday" on the phone. Bill did 3 crossword puzzles while being trapped in the house by the rain. After lunch, the sun came out and the day became summery. Bill went out for a kayak paddle to the canal and back. Then we went to Bed, Bath, and Beyond to buy pillowcases and a couple of throw pillows. Cathy gave Bill a couple of very thoughtful gifts: a Kevin R. Brant microfiber shirt and a portable fishfinder for his kayak. We ate a great dinner in the fog on the outside patio at Aleathea's in Cape May. To encourage use of their outdoor dining, the restaurant was offering a 40% discount on their food. Carol Menz, a member of the owning family, sent a glass of wine over to Cathy and then came over to chat for a while. The rain held off until later at night.

    Thursday was a warmer, more humid day. Cathy went to the gym. Bill did 3 crosswords and then went out for a hot, sweaty 5 mile run. It was slow at 10:14 min/mile, but still a good training run. After lunch, we went to visit Jim Sosna at the hospital. Bill dropped Cathy at home and then went to Jim and Linda's house to take the back wheel off of Linda's bicycle. After dinner, we walked down to Town Bank to watch the Lower Township fireworks. We arrived back home about 10:30 PM.

    Friday was windy with an unrelenting NW wind. Cathy went to the gym. Bill did some weights in the solarium. After lunch, Bill played in the waves with his Yak Board. After a while, he went to get Cathy to come down to the beach to sit. Bill went back in the waves and we both enjoyed being on the beach. During dinner we watched "True Blood" on DVR. Later, we watched "3:10 to Yuma" on TMC - very trite, but good acting and beautifully filmed.

    Saturday was a very windy day. The west wind off of the Bay had the water churning. Cathy went to the gym. We ate an early lunch and then drove into Cape May to watch the very short Fourth of July parade. When we returned home, Bill went down to the beach with his Yak Board and played in the surf for a while. Then, he hung out on the beach on a NASCAR chair until late afternoon. Cathy whipped up a good pasta meal to help Bill in his 5K run on Sunday.

    Sunday was a nice day with some clouds and some sun and light wind. Bill was up early and out of the house at 6:30 AM, heading for Stone Harbor and the Sister Blister 5K. Bill parked at the bay and walked to the registration area. The temperature was perfect for running and Bill had his best time for 2009 when he finished at 26:58 for a pace of 8:38 min/mi. He won 1st place in the 65-69 age group. On the way home he talked with Jim Sosna, who sounded stronger. After Bill got home, Cathy headed out to the Lobster House to buy swordfish and to the ACME for other supplies. We had lunch on the deck. Then, we headed over to the hospital to visit Jim Sosna, who was scheduled for an operation on his lung on Monday morning. We left the hospital around 3:30 PM. At 5:30 PM, Tom and Jean Reilly arrived for a swordfish dinner, followed by a great blueberry pie that Jean baked. As Bill was finishing his second piece of pie in the solarium, he noticed strange site out on the Bay. He and Tom decided that they were looking at 3 people in trouble with an overturned small boat. The people were waving and calling for help. Cathy called 911 while Bill hustled to get into a swim suit and get his kayaking gear. Cathy backed the car out of the way and Bill rushed his kayak to the beach and launched. Meanwhile, one of the three stranded people started to swim to shore and someone from up the beach started to swim out to meet him. Bill sped to the scene and found 2 non-swimmers clinging to a half-sunk rowing skiff. He instructed the two to work their way to the stern of the kayak and to keep holding onto their small boat. Bill paddled toward the closed point on shore, where a small group of people had gathered, including some EMTs and cops, but no water rescue equipment or personnel. After landing the two victims and their boat, Bill paddled home in a hurry and got dressed for the theater. We drove into Cape May, parked at Swain's Hardware and rushed into the theater just before the show started. We had to sit in scattered locations, but enjoyed the show. Afterward, Tom and Jean headed home to Smithville. When we got home, Bill took another shower to wash the salt water off. Big day!

        Bill and Cathy