Bill and Cathy McArthur Spring/Summer/Fall 2010: 4
Monday, July 12, Bill drove the rental car and dropped Cathy at the Y for a couple of classes. He put on his trail running belt, loaded with 2 bottles of G2, and walked to the Lewes/Rehoboth Beach trailhead. It was a hot, muggy morning with terrible air quality. Bill ran a slow 10 miles and found that the Cape Henlopen HS end of the trail is about 4.8 miles from the Rehoboth Beach end. He continued up Kings Highway to pick up the extra bit and then ran back. Bill walked slowly back to the Y and arrived just as Cathy was finishing her second class. Funny thing was that Bill scanned his Y card twice just to use the lobby bathroom before and after his run. We drove back to the RV, ate an early lunch, and headed to Dover to pick up the XTerra. We drove in tandem from the Nissan dealer to Hertz to drop of the rental car. Bill had to fill out an incident report about the dent and scratch in the car. From there, we drove to Bethany Cycle to talk with Tom about a roof rack for two kayaks. He put together an order mixing the Yakima Showboat with some Thule components, Hully Rollers, and Mako Saddles. We also talked about bicycles a bit. During this trip we talked with Alysha from Lomax's office about our concerns for the "out of scope" charges on environmental consulting. On the way back, we stopped at Sleepy's in Rehoboth Beach to order a Serta Perfect Sleeper mattress and box spring in queen size to be delivered on July 23 to the townhouse. We researched cars when we came back to the RV. We ate quinoa and chicken for dinner and viewed a few episodes of "Arrested Development" before bedtime.
Tuesday, Bill started with a 6:00 AM spin class at the Y. It was a great workout, but Bill has to work on sprinting while standing on the pedals. When Bill got back, Cathy headed to the Y for a Pilates class. Bill made phone calls: to J. Byrne agency to find that we need a new insurance agent, and to Comcast to order cable service. When Cathy returned, we got our documents together and drove to the DMV to try to get driver licenses. We found that we needed better proof of residency. The clerk suggested that we get our realtor and lawyer to send us mail items to our new street address and including our PO box. When we returned to the RV, Bill email John Harnett for a suggestion on insurance agent and to our realtor and lawyer asking for mail items to be sent to us. We ate lunch and drove to Dover to visit car dealers about 5 cars: Honda Civic, Nissan Versa, Mazda Miata, Hyundai Elantra, and VW New Beetle "Final Edition" convertible. The Elantra seemed the best car in a purely practical sense, the Miata had sex appeal for Bill, but we fell in love with the Harvest Moon Beige with Cream interior and top "Love Bug". We were also influenced by the $0 down, with 0% interest for 66 months financing plan. We can pay on the Internet using our rewards credit cards to sweeten the deal. It was 8:00 PM by the time we headed south again. We called granddaughter Erin to sing "Happy Birthday" and then went to Striper Bites in Lewes for a late dinner. Bill emailed the insurance agent Jim Fritz before heading to bed.
Wednesday, we started with a walk/run on our mile long road outside the campground. Cathy walked for 6 miles and Bill walked for a mile and ran for 5 sweaty miles:
Bill really needed a shower after returning from his run and stretching. We ate an early lunch and drove the XTerra to Dover. We stopped at Pep Boys to get Cathy a seat cushion for her hips and back and to get "fish eye" mirrors for our New Beetle Final Edition convertible. We drove to Dover VW and did a lot of paperwork. Our orientation to the new car was almost nonexistent. Here's a description that Bill posted on a VW forum (http://newbeetle.org/forums/new-member-forum/44664-delivery-day-woes.html#post668902):
First of all, I love my Final Edition convertible. However, the sales staff didn't tell me much about it before giving me the keys and a figurative slap on the butt to put me on my way. The stuff in the trunk was a real mystery, especially the windscreen. I thought the "ESP" button would make my radio speak Spanish. They told me nothing about how the brakes work, so I thought they were "grabbing" at first. I figured out how to make it smoother and then read in the manual how they work. The XM radio produced the "No Sat" message, which I've learned means that the XM module (in the trunk, I think) is either DOA or misconnected. I couldn't find the iPod connector until I accidentally stumbled across it in the glove box. I was always an easy grader, so I'll give the staff a D- for orientation. One salesman told me that the emergency brake had to be on to put the top down. Anyway, I love the car and will learn about it as I go.
It rained off and on, mostly on, so Bill drove the VW home with the top up. We drove the VW over to Don and Bern's house to show it to them and visit. We also went to the post office, Roadsters, and Food Lion. We had pasta for dinner.
Thursday morning started early for Bill as he got up at 4:30 AM and drove the VW to the 6:00 AM spin class at the Y. It was a pure sprinting class and Bill loved it. Bill signed up for the Tuesday, Thursday 7:15 AM yoga class on his way out. He passed Cathy on her way to her classes. Later, we drove into Lewes for a cappuccino for Bill and to check our mail. John and Diane Hartnett picked us up to take us to lunch at Summerhouse restaurant in Rehoboth Beach. Bill had his usual salad with fish. The food was very good. After we were dropped back at the campground, we drove to Bethany Cycle to get our new roof rack installed. Following that, we drove to Dagsboro and met with Jim Fritz about insurance for the two cars and the townhouse. Cathy questioned the rate for the cars and Jim promised to check it out. We went to Irish Eyes for dinner and enjoyed good food amidst a lot of drunks on the side porch.
Friday, Bill left at 7:00 AM for a kayak paddle on the Broadkill. He watched a beautiful sunrise over the river as he moved through the morning haze. He decided to go past Roosevelt Inlet and down the Lewes/Rehoboth Canal. Although it was low tide at the inlet, the ebb current running up the canal was fierce. Bill had to fight his way to the 10 mile turn around point. The rest of the way was smooth paddling with the current. It was a tough paddle because of the 3.5 miles of bucking the current. He still averaged 4.3 mph for the 20 mile trip. After he got back, he took a shower and then we ate lunch. We drove to the laundry to pickup the clothes that Cathy had dropped off earlier in the day. A little before mid-afternoon, we drove down to Bethany Beach to the summer home of Jim Hanlon's daughter Alex. We had a good afternoon of conversation and then went to dinner, joined by Alex's kids, at Catch 54 in Fenwick Island. The restaurant is owned by the same people tha own Fish On and the menu and food were similarly good. On the way back north on Route 1, Cathy and Bill watched the sun set over the Inland Bays. They viewed a couple of episodes of "Arrested Development" before turning in for the night.
Saturday, Bill was up at 4:50 AM to get ready for a 5K race at Irish Eyes. He was out of Gu, so he used a PowerBar for pre-race fuel about an hour before the 8:15 AM start. It was hot and humid with bad air quality, so Bill decided to keep it easy and relaxed:
He finished first in the 70+ age group, but was the only one there. To his credit, he would have placed 3rd in both the 50-50 and 60-69 age groups. Cathy went to an exercise class at the Y. When Bill got back, we went shopping at Starbucks, Marshalls, Superfresh, and a liquor store. It was a hot, hot day! After we got back and ate lunch, we just chilled out in the RV the rest of the afternoon. We had quinoa and grilled chicken for dinner. Afterward, we viewed 2 episodes of "Arrested Development."
Sunday, Bill was up at 4:50 AM to get ready for a 5K race at the Bottle and Cork in beer-soaked Dewey Beach. The day was hot, but not as humid, and the air quality was much better. Bill decided to take it easy and stay comfortable during the race. He finished with a 8:00 minutes/mile average pace, good enough for second place.
The first place guy beat Bill by less than 30 seconds. Bill would have taken second in the 65-69 age group also. Bill talked with Cathy on the way back to the campground and suggested that we go to the beach for lunch. We packed the cooler and loaded the XTerra with chairs and beach towels and headed to Cape Henlopen State Park. The sun was really hot. Bill went in the warm water and did some body surfing. We ate fruit for lunch. Cathy also had cheese and crackers. On the way back, we stopped in Lewes for a cappuccino and to check our mail at the post office. We chilled out in the RV for the rest of the afternoon. Dinner was a good idea gone bad. We had decided to try the Atlantic Jazz Yard. The jazz group, that is scheduled each night, starts at 8:00 PM, so we made a reservation for 7:30 PM. Parking in Rehoboth Beach for dinner is a nightmare, so we left a bit early to allow us time to wander around in search of a spot. We found a parking space at a meter without too long of a search, and arrived at the restaurant on time. There were few other diners, so the word has gotten out that this is not a good restaurant. There was no sparkling water available, no Arnold Palmers, and very few dishes that didn't have meat added to them. Our appetizers of brie and hummus were good. Bill tried to get the sausage removed from the Squid Ink Linguini, but it was made with a meat-based broth. Bill settled on a flatbread pizza that ranks in the bottom 5 of lousy pizzas that Bill has been served. It was way overcooked and desiccated, tasteless, and almost inedible. Cathy had grilled clams and corn, with one of the clams unopened. She enjoyed the meal, but Bill wasn't impressed. The jazz group never showed up. We stopped at the Super-G on the way back to the campground for G2 and trail mix for Bill to make up for his lousy meal.
Bill and Cathy
