Updates, lots of updates!

There are so many things going on here it’s hard to keep up!! You know – life happening!

On the COMPUTER front…
I got the special shipping box for the laptop last Thursday, and mailed it out the next day. Laptop Rescue is located in Maryland, so hopefully they’ve got the package by now, and I’ll be hearing something from them soon on the “repairability” of my ailing laptop – is it fixable, or do we total it like a wrecked car???

On the HEALTH front…
I’ve got an appointment with my doctor this Thursday to check out what’s going on with the chest pain. I don’t think it’s anything serious, but it's a different kind of pain than I'm used to, and you know how it is when you have pain in the left side of your chest – got to be sure it’s not a heart problem!

On the TRAVELING front….
Alaska bound in September: Great American Tours sent me my cruise confirmation paperwork, along with a big navy blue tote bag with bright gold straps. And guess what? Their name is emblazoned across the side of the bag. Big surprise, huh?

Then I got a box from the Group Leader in West Virginia, and she sent me a second tote bag! Guess I can balance it out and carry one on each side.

My plane reservations are made so I arrive in Seattle on Saturday, and I have a motel reservation for Saturday night. I have Sunday morning to check out the Space Needle & Sci-Fi Museum, but need to be on board ship by 3pm. I’ll probably be ready to call it quits by then anyway!

The only thing left is to check out transportation between places in Seattle.

Dad and I are booked for two shore excursions on this trip. One is in Juneau, a "Whale Watching & Wildlife Quest." The other is in Skagway, a ride on a train up to "White Pass Summit." I hope I can keep up on this trip and the pain levels stay low for a change!

Smoky Mountains bound in October: We have reservations the second week in October in Pigeon Forge. Jonathan is tagging along on this trip. I’m not sure what all we’ll see while we’re there, but the area is geared to tourists, so there’s no shortage of stuff to do.

I took this picture on our trip to the Smoky Mountains last year.

Canadians inbound October/November: Richard, Chrystie & Ellie are coming to visit for a few days. They’re arriving on Halloween so we have plans to take Ellie trick-or-treating. We have a plethora of costumes I’ve been collecting for months to have for our little calendar girl’s modeling sessions, so we figure we could take turns taking her, change costumes between turns, and who’s gonna know she went round to the same houses half a dozen times??? Oh okay, so maybe once will be enough…

The above picture of our little angel is from last year's modeling sessions. I can't wait to see what cute pictures we get this year!

Florida bound in November: We’re headed for Sanford, a town near Orlando, Florida. No, we’re not going to Disney World, it’s King Family time for Thanksgiving. We’re going to visit the Sanford clan (Jess’s daughter Debra & her family). Jess’s oldest son, Randy (aka The Phantom Son – long story), is also coming down for a visit, so it ought to be a great family time.

Jess with the Sanfords at Emily's graduation earlier this year.

And December?? So far there are no plans for traveling, and I rather hope it stays that way. I think we’ll be ready for a rest by then!

There you have it – we're certainly staying busy in our part of the world!

Life’s happening!!!