Van Adventures

  Dec 10-20 We left New Orleans behind and drove along the Gulf coast on our way to Florida. We stopped at the white sand beach in Biloxi...it’s still beautiful! We had spent a week in the Biloxi area rebuilding with Habitat for Humanity back in 2010.  A lot has changed!  There’s now a bunch of casinos and resorts along the beachfront.  We started the Florida leg of our adventure with a 3-night stop in Lillian, AL, just across the river from Pensacola, FL. Pensacola is home to a few wildlife refuge areas, and beautiful State Parks, so we did a lot of hiking the 2 days we were there. Big Lagoon State Park is the NW terminus of the 1,515-mile Florida Circumnavigational Saltwater Paddling Trail. We saw many birds that call the area home – bald eagle, osprey, egret and great blue heron. The blue skies were often punctuated with Blue Angel training flyovers! Their base is in Pensacola. One morning we found a great diner for breakfast and a local brewery for a late a...

  Nov 20- Dec 9 On our third day in Austin, Cindy got a call from the care facility where her parents are.    They said that her dad was not doing well and that we should come home.   We arrived in Boston at 11pm and went directly to Rivercrest, the care facility where Cindy’s parents are. Dad was resting comfortably, but unresponsive. We relieved Cindy’s brother, Chris and sister-in-law, Sally who were sitting with him. We spent the night with Dad, holding his hand and talking to him. The week before, Dad had fallen in the night fracturing his hip. Given his dementia and decreased physical status, we decided not to repair his hip. His pain was well managed and he was repositioned by the caring staff every few hours. I wished to be able to have one last bear hug from him, but would not be able to. It was just nice to sit with Dad and to be present in the moment. With Mom and our family gathered at his bedside, Dad passed 20 hours later. Rivercrest staff were wonde...