Lots of pictures....
IU has a Park dedicated to Cancer Survivors. Our last stop in Indianapolis was to visit the park. We drove by it on our first day and it was a perfect ending to our trip.
Cancer Survivors Park
Home
Some pictures of our trip home...
We were greeted at home by our nephews Kerry and Louie and nieces Mia, Evelyn and Chiara. Along with my parents and sisters Carla and Marianna. The kids had decorated our house with a multitude of welcome signs. Some are pictured in the slideshow below.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
The road to Maine
Last evening as we were trying to get home Mike joked that we should rename the blog "Road to Maine." Maybe that was not such a bad idea. We are home! It is actually fitting that our homecoming is today. It was five years ago today that we started calling this house our home. As we walked through the door today the meaning of home has changed somewhat - at least for me. Believe me, I am fully aware of how corny what I am about to write is, but, my home is anywhere Mike, Vivian and Jonah are. I am so relieved that we all walked through the door healthy. Granted Mike is still recovering but we now know what we have believed all along, he will recover fully. He feels well, tired, as am I from the travels, but, well.
Now a few words about our travels today...
We woke in Atlanta, showered, put the same clothes as yesterday on and were off to the airport. Back through security where both Janise and Vivian were selected for advance screening. Yes this is correct- Vivian at 19 months was selected for advance screening. She again went into the air machine with her Grammie and after that was frisked. The TSA officer told her he was tickling her, but, in reality she was frisked. He did let her come through the rest of the way with me while Grammie got "tickled." We then hung out in the airport for a few hours with lunch, coffees and ice cream compliments of our meal vouchers. Vivian and Jonah took naps. A few hours later we were in the air. Both kids did great again. We were so lucky both ways. The flight was quick and we were home in no time.
My sister Carla came to the airport to pick us up and brought a surprise for Vivian. The surprise was a million times better than the Children's Museum. Carla brought my nephew Louie with her. The greeting they gave to each other was better than any Hollywood screenwriter could ever come up with. It was very touching to see them. Vivian then went off to Louie's to play while Mike and I settled in.
As i write tonight my family are all snug in their beds for our first night back at our house. I will update tomorrow with some pictures after we unpack.
Now a few words about our travels today...
We woke in Atlanta, showered, put the same clothes as yesterday on and were off to the airport. Back through security where both Janise and Vivian were selected for advance screening. Yes this is correct- Vivian at 19 months was selected for advance screening. She again went into the air machine with her Grammie and after that was frisked. The TSA officer told her he was tickling her, but, in reality she was frisked. He did let her come through the rest of the way with me while Grammie got "tickled." We then hung out in the airport for a few hours with lunch, coffees and ice cream compliments of our meal vouchers. Vivian and Jonah took naps. A few hours later we were in the air. Both kids did great again. We were so lucky both ways. The flight was quick and we were home in no time.
My sister Carla came to the airport to pick us up and brought a surprise for Vivian. The surprise was a million times better than the Children's Museum. Carla brought my nephew Louie with her. The greeting they gave to each other was better than any Hollywood screenwriter could ever come up with. It was very touching to see them. Vivian then went off to Louie's to play while Mike and I settled in.
As i write tonight my family are all snug in their beds for our first night back at our house. I will update tomorrow with some pictures after we unpack.
Homeward bound
Written 07-14-2008
Greetings from Atlanta, GA at 11:26 p.m. Monday July 14. We decided to try to get back to Maine a.s.a.p. We had been trying to change our flights and ended up getting one-way tickets home for less money than switching our original flight. We checked out of our home “suite” home and were off to the airport. Mike and Janise were selected for advanced screening. They guy with 32 staples walking hunched over looks threatening. Note to all -- this means that Vivian also had to be screened because Jonah, one stroller, my carry on, Vivian’s car seat and Vivian’s carry on were all I could handle. Luckily the TSA agent helped me with all the stuff and he made Vivian feel comfortable with the big air machine she had to go into. We arrived at our gate to find our 5:20 flight was set to leave at 6:13 then 6:45 then 7:10 hmm… weren’t we supposed to arrive in Atlanta at 6:59? At any rate we arrived in ATL and our plane to PWM was still at the airport. Unfortunately for us the departing gate was changed from the next gate over to the next concourse over with no hope of making it. Oh well, life is an adventure. We are all healthy and happy and Atlanta is as good a place as any to be stuck in. We left the airport with hotel and meal vouchers in hand (again note -- no luggage.) and are awaiting our departure tomorrow. Our hotel does not have wifi so for you all when I say today that means yesterday and tomorrow means today.
I would gladly be stuck anywhere with Mike CANCER FREE.
Greetings from Atlanta, GA at 11:26 p.m. Monday July 14. We decided to try to get back to Maine a.s.a.p. We had been trying to change our flights and ended up getting one-way tickets home for less money than switching our original flight. We checked out of our home “suite” home and were off to the airport. Mike and Janise were selected for advanced screening. They guy with 32 staples walking hunched over looks threatening. Note to all -- this means that Vivian also had to be screened because Jonah, one stroller, my carry on, Vivian’s car seat and Vivian’s carry on were all I could handle. Luckily the TSA agent helped me with all the stuff and he made Vivian feel comfortable with the big air machine she had to go into. We arrived at our gate to find our 5:20 flight was set to leave at 6:13 then 6:45 then 7:10 hmm… weren’t we supposed to arrive in Atlanta at 6:59? At any rate we arrived in ATL and our plane to PWM was still at the airport. Unfortunately for us the departing gate was changed from the next gate over to the next concourse over with no hope of making it. Oh well, life is an adventure. We are all healthy and happy and Atlanta is as good a place as any to be stuck in. We left the airport with hotel and meal vouchers in hand (again note -- no luggage.) and are awaiting our departure tomorrow. Our hotel does not have wifi so for you all when I say today that means yesterday and tomorrow means today.
I would gladly be stuck anywhere with Mike CANCER FREE.
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Saturday
The theme of today was to relax (Mike) and to have some fun (the rest of us). Before I tell you about what the rest of us did today, here is the latest on Mike.
Mike is doing well, but as you can imagine he is very sore and at times pretty uncomfortable. He has been doing a very good job of resting and relaxing. I just asked Mike to describe how he is feeling today, and this is what he had to say. "At times I feel like I've been hit by a bus, then other times a rabbit, a VW Rabbit."
So there you have it!
Gilda and I took Vivian shopping this morning, and Mike and Grammie Janise stayed behind with little Jonah. When we returned we found the two Bryand men napping. Sadly, the naps didn't last too long but both Mike and Jonah seemed happy to see us!
Mike is doing well, but as you can imagine he is very sore and at times pretty uncomfortable. He has been doing a very good job of resting and relaxing. I just asked Mike to describe how he is feeling today, and this is what he had to say. "At times I feel like I've been hit by a bus, then other times a rabbit, a VW Rabbit."
So there you have it!
Gilda and I took Vivian shopping this morning, and Mike and Grammie Janise stayed behind with little Jonah. When we returned we found the two Bryand men napping. Sadly, the naps didn't last too long but both Mike and Jonah seemed happy to see us!
After Vivian's afternoon nap, Grammie Janise and I took Vivian to the Children's Museum while Gilda, Mike and Jonah stayed behind to rest. The museum was great and Vivian seemed very pleased to revisit her favorite exhibits from last week. In case you were wondering . . . Vivian's favorite exhibits are the Water Table and the Curious George Room.
Here is a video from this afternoon at the museum.
And finally here is a video of sweet little Jonah shot tonight, just before I started to write this entry.
That is all the news from Indianapolis tonight.
LLB
Friday, July 11, 2008
Home suite home
Off to the pool!
Vivian says two thumbs up!
Jonah says goo goo ga gaHooray! Mike was released from the hospital today! We are so happy that he is back with us. He is doing well and trying to keep the pain at bay. We are certainly looking forward to going home. It will be so much nicer for him to recouperate at home.
Loren arrived this morning. It is great to have her here. Vivian is excited because she has a fresh playmate. I think she has been growing tired of Janise and I.
Mike has been doing quite a bit of walking and came down to the pool with Vivian, Loren, Jonah and I. Unfortunately the pool area has no shade at all. It is pretty hot today and he can not go in the water so he was not able to stay down there too long.
Mike's surgeon expects that he will recover nicely. He did say some days will be better than others. He said it may take a while for him to get back to normal. His nights and days may be reversed; he could be really hungry and take a bite of food and not want to eat more; etc. Mike is taking that in stride. It can't be worse than chemo.
There are many strange things that happen when going through an experience like this. One thing is the relationship that is formed with caregivers. Mike has been so fortunate with the nurses Rachel, Rochelle and Lisa along with Dr. Foster here and with Carolyn, Dr. Ketchum and the entire staff at Mercy Oncology. It is difficult in some ways to leave them, they are amazing people. We are both so luck to have had them all in our lives.
We would also like to express our continued appreciation to all of you for your support.
GCB
Loren arrived this morning. It is great to have her here. Vivian is excited because she has a fresh playmate. I think she has been growing tired of Janise and I.
Mike has been doing quite a bit of walking and came down to the pool with Vivian, Loren, Jonah and I. Unfortunately the pool area has no shade at all. It is pretty hot today and he can not go in the water so he was not able to stay down there too long.
Mike's surgeon expects that he will recover nicely. He did say some days will be better than others. He said it may take a while for him to get back to normal. His nights and days may be reversed; he could be really hungry and take a bite of food and not want to eat more; etc. Mike is taking that in stride. It can't be worse than chemo.
There are many strange things that happen when going through an experience like this. One thing is the relationship that is formed with caregivers. Mike has been so fortunate with the nurses Rachel, Rochelle and Lisa along with Dr. Foster here and with Carolyn, Dr. Ketchum and the entire staff at Mercy Oncology. It is difficult in some ways to leave them, they are amazing people. We are both so luck to have had them all in our lives.
We would also like to express our continued appreciation to all of you for your support.
GCB
Thursday, July 10, 2008
We are celebrating in Indy!
BEFORE
AFTER
We got good news today!
The pathology of the mass came back and it was a low grade teratoma. This means no more chemo. Mike is cancer free!!! We are very excited and relieved by this news. Mike had a better day today. He was disconnected from all of the various tubes and walked around and sat up quite a bit. He no longer has the morphine pump. He will be released from the hospital tomorrow. He was walking the halls this evening and ran into his team of doctors. They told him it is very unusual for them to see a patient walking around themselves so soon after surgery and jokingly said "maybe you should be released tonight..."
We could not be happier. We will still be here in Indiana a few more days. It will be nice to have Mike in the hotel and I hope we can keep him comfortable there.
His nursing staff was amazing. Rachel, Rochelle and Lisa made Mike feel as comfortable as possible. They all were wonderful and took Mike’s teasing humor in stride. We could not have asked for a better experience (says the woman who was not sliced open).
He has 32 staples and they are very neat. Hopefully no one is squeamish because if you are reading this you are seeing them.
GCB
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Greetings from room 6676
Hello to all. I am writing this evening from Mikey's room. He is sleeping now but had a rough night last night and today was no picnic.
His activity goal for the day was to sit in a chair and the doctors would like him to cough. Sounds pretty easy right? Not so. He is very uncomfortable and sitting up was challenging. He has had three sessions of sitting up each 30 to 45 minutes long and from the look on his face while sitting, 5 minutes would be more than enough for him. The thought of coughing is absurd to him at this point. He has a breathing exercise that he needs to do every hour which he is treating as a test and trying to score higher each time. He has been in alot of pain today. The doctor ordered an anti inflammatory called toradol (spelling) which helped quite a bit but he can not have it very often but the morphine helps. Speaking of the wonder drug he was just given some more so that will help. He is still in good spirits and has been joking with the nurses which is nice. Today should be the worst.
Vivian has been wondering where daddy is. Grammie taught her to say "Daddy at hospital. ALl better." We are probably not going to bring her in to see him. There are so many cords and buttons that she will want to play with and that would not be good.
We appreciate all of your positive thoughts, notes and messages.
GCB
His activity goal for the day was to sit in a chair and the doctors would like him to cough. Sounds pretty easy right? Not so. He is very uncomfortable and sitting up was challenging. He has had three sessions of sitting up each 30 to 45 minutes long and from the look on his face while sitting, 5 minutes would be more than enough for him. The thought of coughing is absurd to him at this point. He has a breathing exercise that he needs to do every hour which he is treating as a test and trying to score higher each time. He has been in alot of pain today. The doctor ordered an anti inflammatory called toradol (spelling) which helped quite a bit but he can not have it very often but the morphine helps. Speaking of the wonder drug he was just given some more so that will help. He is still in good spirits and has been joking with the nurses which is nice. Today should be the worst.
Vivian has been wondering where daddy is. Grammie taught her to say "Daddy at hospital. ALl better." We are probably not going to bring her in to see him. There are so many cords and buttons that she will want to play with and that would not be good.
We appreciate all of your positive thoughts, notes and messages.
GCB
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Surgery update #2
Mike is doing well. He is very groggy but has been joking around so he is definitely on the mend.
As the surgery was wrapping up the anesthesiologist did an intrathecal which is like a spinal tap which delivers pain medication directly to the area that he had surgery on. This is helping to manage the pain along with a morphine pump. The intrathecal will wear off in the next 18 - 24 hours but Dr. Foster is hopeful that it will get him through the worst of the pain and the morphine will get him through the rest.
He is not allowed to eat or drink as of yet and is quite thirsty. For now he has little sponges on sticks that are soaked in water and he is allowed to swab his mouth to keep it moist. His throat is pretty sore as he had a tube down his throat to help him breath during surgery.
His incision is from his sternum to just under his belly button. We will post before & after pictures when his bandage is removed. Dr.Foster checked in with us this afternoon. He told us that while removing the mass and surrounding tissue he inspected the surrounding organs and all looked good.
The nurses told Mike they want him to get out of bed tomorrow to walk around. He is not so sure he wants any part of that... He was pretty happy when he found out the hospital (unlike the hotel) has Versus so he can watch Le Tour de France.
Janise is visiting him at the hospital now. We are so grateful that she is here with us. Vivian is in heaven with all of this grammie time.
Surgery update #1
We arrived at the hospital at 5:30 a.m. Mike was admitted to the hospital and we went to the preop area. He answered many questions from several different nurses, doctors and CNAs. He got an IV (twice). The first did not go so well so he had a second. He went in to the surgical area at 7:15 a.m. and surgery began at 7:55 a.m. I went back to the hotel briefly and grammie was able to shower. I was able to have some much needed coffee then back to the hospital. After a short wait the beeper I was given went off and I was directed to a private area and met with Dr. Foster. All went as planned! PHEW... I am back at the hotel awaiting a call that he is wrapping up in recovery so I can meet him in his room. He will be heavily medicated today but they hope to have him sitting up by tomorrow. I will write more later.
GCB
GCB
Vivian's Tour of Our Indiana Home
TODAY IS DADDY’S OPERATION . MOMMY SAYS THERE WILL BE A LOT OF WAITING FOR US, FOR OUR FAMILY AND FOR ALL OF OUR FRIENDS. SO I’M THINKING THIS WILL BE A GOOD DAY TO TAKE YOU ON A TOUR OF OUR “INDIANA HOME”.
THIS IS WHERE I’M LIVING FOR A LITTLE WHILE. WE GO INTO A BIG TALL BUILDING AND TAKE AN ELEVATOR. I PRESS # 4. OUR LITTLE APARTMENT HAS A KITCHEN, LIVING ROOM AND TWO BEDROOMS. I SHARE MINE WITH GRAMMIE AND JONAH SHARES HIS WITH MOMMY AND DADDY. I HAVE A CRIB; JONAH SLEEPS IN THE BIG BED.WHEN DADDY COMES BACK FROM THE HOSPITAL, WE MIGHT MOVE JONAH INTO A BUREAU DRAWER. WE HAVE SOME BIG ONES.
I HELP OUT WITH MOST OF THE CHORES. TODAY WE WENT BACK IN THE ELEVATOR AND I PRESSED # 1 TO GET TO THE LAUNDRY ROOM. WE DID TWO LOADS OF WASH, WHICH I HELPED TO FOLD (AND UNFOLD). EACH MORNING DADDY AND I GO TO THE FRONT DESK TO PICK UP A NEWSPAPER AND DROP OFF THE TRASH. WE’RE PRETTY BUSY MOST OF THE TIME. WE GET BACK IN THE ELEVATOR AND I PUSH #4.
MOMMY GETS JONAH READY IN THE MORNINGS AND THEN WE TALK ABOUT WHAT WE’D LIKE TO DO EACH DAY. WE TIDY UP AND THEN GO OUT, USUALLY TO A PLACE WHERE I CAN RUN AROUND FOR A WHILE. DADDY SAYS IT’S GOOD FOR ME TO GET TIRED!
WE HAVE A BIG POOL IN THE BACKYARD AND A PLACE TO COOK OUT, TOO.
WE KEEP SOME CANDLES LIT THAT MAKE THE PLACE SMELL REAL GOOD. WE ALSO HAVE A BOQUET OF FRESH FLOWERS ON OUR DINNER TABLE. IT MAKES IT NICE TO HAVE A PRETTY PLACE TO SIT DOWN AND TALK ABOUT THE DAY. HOPE YOU LIKE THIS STORY AND OUR SLIDE SHOW. I THOUGHT YOU’D LIKE TO SEE WHERE WE ARE AND WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE. IT’S PRETTY COOL……AT LEAST FOR A LITTLE WHILE. LOVE, VIVIAN
THIS IS WHERE I’M LIVING FOR A LITTLE WHILE. WE GO INTO A BIG TALL BUILDING AND TAKE AN ELEVATOR. I PRESS # 4. OUR LITTLE APARTMENT HAS A KITCHEN, LIVING ROOM AND TWO BEDROOMS. I SHARE MINE WITH GRAMMIE AND JONAH SHARES HIS WITH MOMMY AND DADDY. I HAVE A CRIB; JONAH SLEEPS IN THE BIG BED.WHEN DADDY COMES BACK FROM THE HOSPITAL, WE MIGHT MOVE JONAH INTO A BUREAU DRAWER. WE HAVE SOME BIG ONES.
I HELP OUT WITH MOST OF THE CHORES. TODAY WE WENT BACK IN THE ELEVATOR AND I PRESSED # 1 TO GET TO THE LAUNDRY ROOM. WE DID TWO LOADS OF WASH, WHICH I HELPED TO FOLD (AND UNFOLD). EACH MORNING DADDY AND I GO TO THE FRONT DESK TO PICK UP A NEWSPAPER AND DROP OFF THE TRASH. WE’RE PRETTY BUSY MOST OF THE TIME. WE GET BACK IN THE ELEVATOR AND I PUSH #4.
MOMMY GETS JONAH READY IN THE MORNINGS AND THEN WE TALK ABOUT WHAT WE’D LIKE TO DO EACH DAY. WE TIDY UP AND THEN GO OUT, USUALLY TO A PLACE WHERE I CAN RUN AROUND FOR A WHILE. DADDY SAYS IT’S GOOD FOR ME TO GET TIRED!
WE HAVE A BIG POOL IN THE BACKYARD AND A PLACE TO COOK OUT, TOO.
WE KEEP SOME CANDLES LIT THAT MAKE THE PLACE SMELL REAL GOOD. WE ALSO HAVE A BOQUET OF FRESH FLOWERS ON OUR DINNER TABLE. IT MAKES IT NICE TO HAVE A PRETTY PLACE TO SIT DOWN AND TALK ABOUT THE DAY. HOPE YOU LIKE THIS STORY AND OUR SLIDE SHOW. I THOUGHT YOU’D LIKE TO SEE WHERE WE ARE AND WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE. IT’S PRETTY COOL……AT LEAST FOR A LITTLE WHILE. LOVE, VIVIAN
Monday, July 7, 2008
Happy Monday...
We would like to thank you all for your positive thoughts. We are very lucky to have special people in our lives and your concern and love for our family is truly appreciated. We made some changes to the blog to make it easier to see pictures and slide shows so it may look a bit different today.
We started and ended our day exploring the city of Indianapolis. It is a great city. We are not psyched about the circumstances that brought us here, but, we are glad that we have been able to visit.
Mike and I went to the IU Cancer Center and met with Drs. Foster (urological surgeon) and Kessler (thoracic surgeon). We left with some good news. Mike will not be having the thoracic surgery. The nodes in his lungs have shrunk to a size that are not of concern. Mike will be admitted to IU at 5:30 a.m. and have RPLND surgery tomorrow morning. The surgery will be 2 or 3 hours long (instead of the 5 hours we expected with both surgeries) he should be sent directly to a regular room (no ICU which is standard with thoracic surgery). His hospital stay may be a bit shorter than originally expected too. Although the RPLND is still a very serious surgery we are very excited about this turn of events.
Again, we can not thank you enough and will keep you posted.
GCB
We started and ended our day exploring the city of Indianapolis. It is a great city. We are not psyched about the circumstances that brought us here, but, we are glad that we have been able to visit.
Mike and I went to the IU Cancer Center and met with Drs. Foster (urological surgeon) and Kessler (thoracic surgeon). We left with some good news. Mike will not be having the thoracic surgery. The nodes in his lungs have shrunk to a size that are not of concern. Mike will be admitted to IU at 5:30 a.m. and have RPLND surgery tomorrow morning. The surgery will be 2 or 3 hours long (instead of the 5 hours we expected with both surgeries) he should be sent directly to a regular room (no ICU which is standard with thoracic surgery). His hospital stay may be a bit shorter than originally expected too. Although the RPLND is still a very serious surgery we are very excited about this turn of events.
Again, we can not thank you enough and will keep you posted.
GCB
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Sunday, July 6, 2008.
Today started out pretty early - all dressed, fed and in the parking lot of the Indianapolis Zoo by 8:45. (Hooray for Starbucks). Thankfully, there was no long line of cars like yesterday, and the morning was still cool with a nice breeze, giving us time to explore all the exhibits before the high heat and humidity kicked in. Yesterday was Vivian’s day - the Children’s Museum put her over the top with excitement and all kinds of opportunity to interact. Today, I’d have to say, was most embraced by Mike. He’s big on zoos and this one didn‘t disappoint! He had us all perfectly scheduled around and through each area (farm, safari, aviary, koala house) to ensure we were right on time for the dolphin show. It was well worth it. And once again, Jonah slept through it all.
This afternoon started the wind down process - kids napped, we napped, watched the longest Wimbledon final in recent history. After some time at the pool where everyone took a swim (except for our sleeping Jonah), we set out to find the hospital and get ready for Mike’s business at hand that starts tomorrow with a consultation with his docs and pre-op preparation. This time, the GPS got us there directly, and it’s less than two miles from our “home away from home”. The IU Medical Complex is huge, modern and very impressive. Gilda will accompany Mike tomorrow. They expect to get all the details, the schedule, and the extent of what the process will entail. Mike doesn’t check in until early Tuesday morning, so our plan is to tour a little bit of the downtown tomorrow afternoon. A little Indiana trivia: Indianapolis has war memorial monuments and statues second only to the number of monuments in Washington, DC.
Tonight Gilda and Mike are on a date. They’re off to dinner at the Alcatrazz Brew Pub (upon the advice of the traveling Monaghan boys - Matt and Seth). Vivian has just closed her eyes; hopefully dreaming of koala bears (actually - a little more trivia - koalas are not bears at all, they are marsupials). And of course, Jonah is sleeping.
Thanks to all for checking in and leaving messages on the blog. Makes us all feel a little closer to home. JVM
This afternoon started the wind down process - kids napped, we napped, watched the longest Wimbledon final in recent history. After some time at the pool where everyone took a swim (except for our sleeping Jonah), we set out to find the hospital and get ready for Mike’s business at hand that starts tomorrow with a consultation with his docs and pre-op preparation. This time, the GPS got us there directly, and it’s less than two miles from our “home away from home”. The IU Medical Complex is huge, modern and very impressive. Gilda will accompany Mike tomorrow. They expect to get all the details, the schedule, and the extent of what the process will entail. Mike doesn’t check in until early Tuesday morning, so our plan is to tour a little bit of the downtown tomorrow afternoon. A little Indiana trivia: Indianapolis has war memorial monuments and statues second only to the number of monuments in Washington, DC.
Tonight Gilda and Mike are on a date. They’re off to dinner at the Alcatrazz Brew Pub (upon the advice of the traveling Monaghan boys - Matt and Seth). Vivian has just closed her eyes; hopefully dreaming of koala bears (actually - a little more trivia - koalas are not bears at all, they are marsupials). And of course, Jonah is sleeping.
Thanks to all for checking in and leaving messages on the blog. Makes us all feel a little closer to home. JVM
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Day One
Howdy y’all. Our first full day in Indy was very busy. First , I will rewind to the grocery shopping experience. All I will say is we sure miss Hannaford and Whole Foods. Back to day one. We all slept in until 8:30, very late for us. We wanted to go the Indianapolis zoo, we arrived there at 2:30 to find the line to the zoo to be a ¼ mile long. New plan. We ended going to the children’s museum of Indianapolis , The largest in the world. The museum was absolutely amazing, 4 floors of fun. Vivian went crazy the whole day , she even to started to shake with excitement at certain exhibits. Jonah did his norm of sleeping .After about 2 and ½ hours of exploring we went to the famed sight of the Indianapolis 500. After a few photos, (just because we are here), we headed back to our temporary home for dinner and to rest up for the zoo.
MRB
Friday, July 4, 2008
Are we there yet? Yes we are.
We made it! We had an early day and all went well. We were at the airport at 5:30 and in the air by 7:30. Vivian and Jonah were absolutely wonderful. We were so nervous that they would be a nightmare on the plane but neither shed a tear. Vivian chatted and read books the entire trip from Portland to Philly and slept most of the way from Philly to Indianapolis, as did Mike. Jonah slept most of both flights. Vivian did check to see if the floor in the airport would be a good place to take a little rest. She laid down in the middle of the corridor and was quite happy with herself.
We touched down in Indiana and were off to find the hotel. With all of the craziness in getting ready to go none of us had the hotel info. We had Loren’s GPS and found what we thought was our hotel listed on the GPS, it however was not our hotel. We ended up seeing quite a bit of Indianapolis as we drove around in circles. One may ask, why would you drive around in circles if you had a GPS? We wondered the same thing. Well after confirming the address and typing it into said GPS we received a message that no such address exists. Hmmm… with all of the technology we had available (GPS, 2 cell phones, a blackberry and a lap top with wifi) we ended up going old school and stopping to ask for directions. That did not work either. In the end we called the hotel and the nice man that answered gave directions and responded to Mike’s “so we’ll see you in a few minutes’ by saying “If not today, tomorrow.”
We are very pleased with the accommodations and Vivian is thrilled to be sleeping in the same room as Grammie. Mike and I are certain that travel would not have run smoothly if Grammie was not with us.
We knew Indianapolis is the home of the Indy 500, but, we did not know that driving here would be like competing in the race. Blinkers are not used. Speed limits are not followed. It is certainly exciting.
More from Indy tomorrow.
We touched down in Indiana and were off to find the hotel. With all of the craziness in getting ready to go none of us had the hotel info. We had Loren’s GPS and found what we thought was our hotel listed on the GPS, it however was not our hotel. We ended up seeing quite a bit of Indianapolis as we drove around in circles. One may ask, why would you drive around in circles if you had a GPS? We wondered the same thing. Well after confirming the address and typing it into said GPS we received a message that no such address exists. Hmmm… with all of the technology we had available (GPS, 2 cell phones, a blackberry and a lap top with wifi) we ended up going old school and stopping to ask for directions. That did not work either. In the end we called the hotel and the nice man that answered gave directions and responded to Mike’s “so we’ll see you in a few minutes’ by saying “If not today, tomorrow.”
We are very pleased with the accommodations and Vivian is thrilled to be sleeping in the same room as Grammie. Mike and I are certain that travel would not have run smoothly if Grammie was not with us.
We knew Indianapolis is the home of the Indy 500, but, we did not know that driving here would be like competing in the race. Blinkers are not used. Speed limits are not followed. It is certainly exciting.
More from Indy tomorrow.
Getting ready.
We are all packed and ready to go.
We are normally very excited to travel, but, preparing for this trip was bittersweet. We were able to take care of last minute chores that needed to be done. Vivian's friends at school gave her presents for her trip. She will be entertained well on the plane.
The last few days were not all work, work, work. Yesterday Mike got to surf for a few hours. We went to dinner with Anthony and Kirby (a.k.a. Turby). Today Mike and Vivian were able to get some swimming in thanks to Andy and Caity (and Joan and Roger). We did a quick visit to my parents and Vivian was able to get one last playdate with Louie before the trip. Mike ended the day going to see our friends Rich and Warren playing at Gritty's. He caught up with many of our friends while he was out.
Now we are trying to wind down so we can wake up in a few hours to go. More from Indy. Happy 4th!
We are normally very excited to travel, but, preparing for this trip was bittersweet. We were able to take care of last minute chores that needed to be done. Vivian's friends at school gave her presents for her trip. She will be entertained well on the plane.
The last few days were not all work, work, work. Yesterday Mike got to surf for a few hours. We went to dinner with Anthony and Kirby (a.k.a. Turby). Today Mike and Vivian were able to get some swimming in thanks to Andy and Caity (and Joan and Roger). We did a quick visit to my parents and Vivian was able to get one last playdate with Louie before the trip. Mike ended the day going to see our friends Rich and Warren playing at Gritty's. He caught up with many of our friends while he was out.
Now we are trying to wind down so we can wake up in a few hours to go. More from Indy. Happy 4th!
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