July 30-August  5, 2018

Sunday night in South Carolina, Gma and Gpa Seitz, Tom, Scott and I had dinner on the beach at Coconut Joes. We had to wait a bit, but it was nice to eat on the deck overlooking the beach. The weather in Charleston was a bit rainy and stormy all week, but we managed to find lots of activities to keep us busy in between the rain drops. It seems like most of the heavy rain came in the mornings.

On Monday we all drove into downtown Charleston to walk through the covered, open air market checking out local artwork like Gullah sweetgrass baskets and local food items. We then met up for a BBQ lunch in a local restaurant. Later that night we all had a seafood dinner at a local Marina restaurant. Shrimping is big along the southern coast, along with fish and of course, BBQ!  Needless to say we were not lacking for wonderful food choices! And my favorite, Hush Puppies!

On Tuesday. Tom, Scott and I visited the Charleston Aquarium. Lots of sea turtles and the facility functions as a sea life rescue, especially for injured turtles that nest along the coast.  Nearby, a new museum is planned to describe the life of the slaves brought into Charleston although they had a display we walked through on a local pier before heading to the movies. We stopped into a Movie Tavern and caught the Mission Impossible film while enjoying a very tasty dinner!

On Weds the Seitz Family returned to downtown Charleston for a carriage ride through the city complete with an historical tour. It was incredibly hot and the tour guides mentioned how wonderful it must have been living there when our country was just getting started, with the heavy rain storms, humidity and tons of mosquitoes!  Seems like nothing has changed! Except thank goodness for air conditioning!  (Sorry Allison!)  We also learned that Charleston had a rough history with lots of fires and even earthquakes that left one church tower leaning!  The tour was very interesting and Tom even reported it was his most favorite activity! What?! Tom and horses usually do not mix!

We bought a combo ticket that allowed us to have both a carriage tour and a harbor boat tour, so on Thursday we took the ride around the large harbor and Ft Sumter. We opted out of the tour to Ft Sumter-not a whole lot to see there anymore, but it is on an island. So you have to take a boat to access it. I think we had a better tour from the boat, and walking through Ft Moultrie. The movie, Glory really highlights Ft Sumter's role in the Civil War. But as we learned, Ft Moultrie had an even bigger impact in protecting the city. And the location of Ft Sumter was not always on an island but a peninsula. The tour boat took us along the city's coastline, around Ft Sumter, and off of the Mt Pleasant peninsula and the large vacation homes and shrimping boats. We also saw lots of dolphins! And then we cruised past Patriots Point and the USS Yorktown Aircraft carrier parked in the harbor before stopping under the bridge. The captain gave us a special treat by blowing the horn under the Ravenel bridge that seemed to echo on forever for the entire length which connects the mainland to the peninsulas. We were happy that we managed to get our boat tour in between rain showers!  Tom and Scott opted out of the boat tour and decided to go on a bike tour on their own around the Mount Pleasant peninsula while stopping into a local coffee shop to avoid any big rainfalls. It warmed up enough in the afternoon for Scott and I to take swim in the ocean. The waves though were very rough and we spent most of our time getting knocked down and trying to remain standing! Scott even attempted surfing on a small board left at the house, but it wasn't sturdy enough to stand on, so he used it as a boogie board instead. At least the water temp was very comfortable!  That evening we visited with the son of the Seitz family nephew/cousin, Bryan Blanchard who lives in Charleston. He stopped over to the house to help us drink some beer before we headed out to dinner.

On our last day, Tom and Scott took Gma Seitz in town to walk through a large mall while Mark, Gpa and I toured the USS Yorktown. The history is amazing onboard the carrier, and it was full of historical planes, including several from Northrop Grumman. I even bought Allison one of the historical plane models, The Tomcat,  for her new work desk. (Tom already has plenty of knick knacks for his desk like the B2 model). It was just a bit challenging climbing up and down the narrow stairwells on board, plus a bit slippery with all the rain. We opted out of climbing around the smaller Destroyer and submarine. The rest of the group visited the aquarium. In the evening we stopped in for some souvenir shopping and then we took one last long walk along the beach and out for a BBQ dinner.

Saturday we drove back home through the DC area.  Alex could only stay for a few days as she was heading to Wisconsin for a Cross Fit Event to cheer on friends in the middle of the week. She enjoyed shopping at the outlet malls and visiting a Plantation as well as joining many family activities. We also had the added challenge of keeping Gma Seitz engaged as she is struggling with ongoing dementia. We would like to thank Gpa and Gma Seitz for making this trip possible! It was wonderful spending time with all the family members and having the opportunity to discover another part of the country as well as meeting baby Claire!

On Sunday I was busy unpacking the van and doing laundry. In a very hot house!  Allison had survived her first week of her new job at Northrop at the Sykesville facility, near my previous job at the

nursing home. She spent the evenings holed up in our basement with our portable AC, but Tom did not think it was running very efficiently. We couldn't wait for the AC repairman scheduled on Tuesday!

July 23-July 29, 2018

Happy Birthday Wishes to Nicholas Bozyk who also celebrated a July Birthday on the 17th!  I am guessing you had a better day than Allison and Scott!  They were busy recuperating from their wisdom teeth surgery-still taking medication and eating soft,squishy food!  Looks like Allison was a bit more bruised and swollen than Scott. But both were recuperating well. They had a follow up appointment with the surgeon to make sure everything was healing. I joined them since I wanted to make sure everything was fine before our busy upcoming week.

Allison was preparing for her new job at Northrop Grumman which starts July 30th. And the rest of us were busy preparing for our upcoming, second summer vacation with the entire Seitz Family in Charleston, South Carolina. We were very excited to be going on the road again, however, we were going to miss Allison. But she had the new job waiting for her!

This looked like it was going to be my last full week of work at the nursing home. Turns out, the State Inspectors came in at the end of the week. Glad I missed most of it!  The new owners were waiting for the State Inspection to see if there was any further work that needed to be done to the facility. Rather like waiting for a Home Inspection and then requesting certain items to be repaired prior to the purchase. I had agreed to work for the previous company until the end of July, and then had planned to work for the new company-same pay and same schedule. However, I really was not happy with the new manager that was coming in. Strangely enough we had 2 managers-the old company and the new company trying to run the department. It was strange and awkward. And I did not think I would be happy working for the new manager full time, so I told him I would be happy to work on an As Needed basis starting when I returned from vacation. Since I was still working for the previous owners, I had a portion of my vacation paid for. All the old rehab staff members were gone except for myself and Anne, our PT assistant. She was able to obtain a full time job at another local nursing home, a bit smaller than the one we currently worked at, but near her house. Several other staff members had basically retired, and our full time PT, Laura was working at an out patient therapy clinic like she used to do. I was certainly going to miss our old crew. I wanted to spend more time visiting with everyone with dinner out. I did manage to meet up with two of our PTs, but everyone else was so busy with their own schedules, we just could not get together.

Meanwhile, the new company and our old company brought in substitute therapists-a new OT grad from Detroit! She also attended Wayne State U!  Another OT whom I never officially met, but knew about her because I had worked with her father during my last job at the large Retirement facility. He was a very hard working PT, taking on a manager position in one clinic and working on an as needed basis at several other facilities on weekends and after work during the week. He was making sure he had enough cash flow to put his twin girls through college-and turns out one of the girls became and OT and this was her first job!  Sadly, I had heard her father had passed away a few years earlier, so I gave her a big hug and told her I much we all loved her Dad, including the patients. And what a great job he always did. Meanwhile,we also needed PTs which came in the form of traveling therapists from Florida. The two guys were temporary, as well as a Speech Therapist that was sent in from the DC area. The difficulty lies with the patients who may end up having different therapists each day as well as the difficulty for the facility staff trying to work with different therapists in the building. That is why we used to like working directly for a business rather than a contract company. But that does not seem to be the norm these days. Anyway, I was looking forward to vacation!

I spent the week packing including beach toys and food! We were staying in a house on a peninsula off of the Charleston Harbor called Isle of Palms. We had access directly to the Atlantic Ocean and lots of beach area, as well as a small pool at the house. And we brought along our bikes for outings.  On Thursday night I dropped into Mom's apartment to attend a presentation on Alzheimers and to visit with her before heading out for a week.  I also took her in for a dentist appointment Weds morning before heading to work. What a crazy schedule!

On Friday, Tom had to go into work in the morning which gave me more time to pack! However, it also meant that if we left later in the day, we would get stuck in DC traffic heading south. We really wanted to make use of our extra time, so we decided to take a different route, through the mountains in Virginia, and to stop near Charlotte, NC that evening. The drive was much better, although it rained quite a bit especially through Virginia. In the morning, we drove by Charlotte, NC and decided to stop into CaroWinds Amusement Park. The Park is located exactly between North and South Caroling on the border. It was also just down the street from our previous house when we lived in Charlotte (BC-Before Children). We arrived as they were opening the gates. It was incredibly hot, but the park was beautiful and it was a nice day to walk around. Except for Scott-we bought him a Fast Pass so he could ride all the roller coasters since we were not planning on staying late. The park is owned by the same company that runs Cedar Point in Ohio. We had a great time, caught a few rides together and had a terrific lunch before getting back on the road. We did  a drive by at our old house. We actually had a hard time recognizing most of the neighborhood and the surrounding area as Charlotte has really been built up. We arrived in Charleston in the evening with time to unpack and settle in to our room before it got dark.

On Sunday the whole Seitz

family was up and dressed for church. We attended mass at an historical church on the Mt Pleasant peninsula called Stella Maris. It was a pretty little church with great music and a bit old fashioned with lots of bells and altar servers holding the platters to catch any of the host that may fall during communion!  After mass we stopped into  Historical Fort Moultrie located right across the street. Most of the fort was underground and was used during both the Civil War as well as a stronghold for the East coast during WWII. We did not have much time for a formal tour, but found out later that General Moultrie was actually buried on site, as well as a famous Indian chief.  And that this fort was even more important to protection of the coast and Charleston than Fort Sumter which was located on an island in the Bay. We headed back to the house after picking up some groceries and then grilled burgers to have lunch with the whole Seitz family.

 July 16-July 22, 2018

This week I took off work Tuesday and switched my work day to Friday to take the kids in for their wisdom teeth removal. They had decided to both schedule the same day since they both needed the surgery. And I think they wanted to recuperate together. Plus not sure one or the other would go back after watching the aftermath of surgery!

I also made sure Tom was not traveling this week! I needed someone at home watching one while the other was undergoing the same process. Plus we got Tom to the dentist this week too since he was still under my dental benefit.

So Allison decided she wanted to go first.  She did not want to go the whole morning without eating since she was concerned how her surgery may turn out with her anemia issue and little food..  So no food after midnite for both of them. In the morning, I packed Allison up and took her in for her appointment. She was very nervous, as was Scott, but both kids were under anesthesia, so they did not remember any of it. I was able to walk Allison in to the surgery room, give her a hug and kiss before they put her under. No sooner did I get settled in the waiting room, that she was done!  The surgeon finished in about 25 minutes, and then some time to wake up and clean up! They wrapped Allison's face in an ice pack and put her in a wheelchair. The nurse pushed her out to my van and helped her in. They also gave me her prescription for antibiotics and pain medication. I asked for all the medication in liquid form since I recall the difficulty swallowing all those huge pills when I had my wisdom teeth removed.

As soon as I got Allison home and settled in on the couch, I decided to run up to the grocery store to pick up a few food items they recommended for the kids to eat with their medication. And with their swollen mouths, they needed soft foods like mashed potatoes and ice cream. I then had to hurry home to drop everything off and get Scott to his appointment. When I walked into the office, the girls at the front desk and the nurses were all confused to see me again, but with Scott. They did not realize that both kids were related and had scheduled for the same day!  We had a good laugh, but then got down to business to complete Scott's surgery. However, they were amazed that I hadn't picked up Allison's medication yet. They were concerned that she would be in too much pain as the anesthesia began to wear off, so they asked if Tom could run to the pharmacy to pick it up. It wasn't ready yet, so Tom was able to pick up some liquid Advil at the grocery store for her before I got home with Scott. Again, Scott's surgery only took about 25 minutes and then some time to wake up and get wrapped with an ice bag. The nurse helped Scott out to my van in the wheelchair and off we went. Both kids were settled on the couch with ice bags to their faces, and I then headed out to the pharmacy to pick up their medication.

Turns out since I requested that all the kids medication be in liquid form, but with adult doses, it apparently wiped out the entire supply at our local medical center! And the other facility nearby I found out was closed due to water damage. So I ended up having to drive into Baltimore to pick up the rest of the medication. The pharmacists thought the medication was for little children and asked if the kids wanted a certain flavor for their antibiotic and if they preferred a cup or a syringe for the dosage. Imagine their surprise when I told them my youngest was 18! At least I had all the medication and was able to head home and start passing out the liquid along with bowls of ice cream which the kids had managed to get a few spoonfulls into their very swollen mouths. I was just happy they both came through the surgery with no issues. So they spent the rest of the week recuperating on the couch with lots of medicated mouthwash rinses so they would not get infections. They also had stitches in their mouths which were supposed to break down on their own.

On Friday though , Tom and Allison were up early in the morning and headed to Salisbury. It was the last weekend in July in which Allison had to move completely out of the University condo. Her roommate Helena had graduated and moved out already, so it was just Allison and her roommate Kaley. Kaley decided to move out even though she had not graduated, but hadn't picked up her items as of yet. Allison had the most items left, including our old couches and kitchen table, plus her bedroom furniture. Rather than bring home most of the old furniture, Allison gave it to a frisbee friend for her apartment at school. On Friday, Allison and Tom spent the day cleaning the apartment and completing the walk through with the landlord. They were going to stay in a hotel for the night, but it turned out to be rather expensive. So they crashed at the condo on the couches-rather boring with no internet or cable hookup but they managed. At least they enjoyed their dinner out at one of Tom's favorite micro pubs-EVO. Since I had to work on Friday, Scott and I drove out Saturday to pick up the rest of the furniture in my van. We had Allison's bed frame and dresser to bring home. We decided to donate her old recliner chair, desk and mattress and box spring. The rest of the items they left in Kaley's room that belonged to her. Of course it poured rain all day. We had to run through rain drops trying to load the van. Fortunately we arrived at the same time Allison's friend pulled in with a moving van to pick up the couches and dining room table and chairs. Scott and Tom helped her boyfriend load all the furniture into their rented moving van and then we went out to lunch. Tom and Allison had found a very cute sandwich shop in the old section of Salisbury that we never tried before. Too bad the weather wasn't sunny or we would have sat on the patio or maybe walked through the zoo, or drove down to the beach.  Instead, Tom and Allison were both very tired and dirty from cleaning the condo and they just wanted to head home. So we did. 

July 9 to July 15, 2018


Happy Birthday Allison! She celebrated her birthday on Friday the 13th this year. Spooky!  We had dinner and cake when she got home from camp Friday afternoon. We could not wait for Tom! He was traveling home from work out in Salt Lake City.  We did hold off on opening all her presents. She asked for a new phone, and I picked her up some dressy work clothes, new tennis shoes for playing ultimate frisbee and a travel bag along with some computer games and books.  Plus we decided to enjoy an afternoon  on Saturday at the Meyerhoff theater watching Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince while the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra played along. The mood was very light and fun-the conductor did an incredible job and informed the audience that we could cheer and yell whenever we wanted. Allison and I even put on a few Potter clothing items to get in the mood. She wore her Harry Potter scarf that she bought in London. I put on a small witches hat and packed a cat and wand in my purse!  It was extra special watching the film while the orchestra played the background music. You almost forgot they were there! It was so good.  And a special way to celebrate Allison turning 23!

When Tom returned over the weekend, we decided to celebrate Scott and Allison's graduations, Allison 's new job and her Birthday all together with a special dinner at Ruth Chris Steakhouse in Annapolis on Sunday. Tom had earned a gift certificate through work and we decided to make good use of it. We had a lovely dinner and a walk down by the pier through the Naval Academy along with a bite of Kilwins ice cream to top off the evening. Sadly I could not talk the family into a Harbor Boat tour. Guess we will just have to plan on entertaining some out of town guests with that activity!

Allison needed the weekend to recuperate from another week at GS camp. She was really excited and happy to have gone to camp for her last week, although it really wore her out. This week they went rock climbing. I am so impressed with Allison's skills. She is not afraid at all to rappel off the side of the cliffs with the girls. Scott went rappelling at boy scout camp when he was younger and does not share Allison's joy for falling off the side of a mountain!  I just loved her photos! And I am glad she was feeling well enough to get through the climbing portion of the week. We will have to check out this park located in northern Maryland. Maybe for a hike. And Allison's GS camp name of Dragon

will live on at least in the form of newly acquired wagons. I had given Allison my portable, fold up wagon to haul her gear around camp and she fondly referred to it as her Dragon Wagon(although the girls thought she meant Dragging Wagon). Anyhow, the GS summer camp staff purchased several wagons to keep on hand to haul stuff around since they thought it was such a good idea and dubbed them Dragon Wagons in Allison's honor!

Meanwhile, I continued to work at least through the month of July at my nursing home.