Just What the Dr. Ordered...visiting Luke in Grenada

This trip was one of the highlights of my life. Norman and I left last Wednesday for a visit with Luke in Grenada. He was finishing up his mid-terms and had a few days off from school. We left the house around 6:15am headed for the ATL airport where we flew non-stop to St Lucia compliments of Norman's Delta Skymiles. We knew we were going to have to change airports in St Lucia but what we did not know was that the other airport was on the opposite end of the island.

We were directed to a waiting cab and began our journey. Our cab driver, Pios, was very knowledgeable about the island and answered all our questions. We traveled north with a zig and a zag east and west through a fishing village and a rain forest, all the while hearing about the island. We saw lots of banana trees.

An hour and a half later and $80 less in our pockets, we arrived at the hole in the wall they call the "local airport", home of the infamous Liat Caribbean Airline-which handles all the hops from island to island. This was a small open air facility with a tiny cafe(by this time we were starving having dined only on biscoff cookies and diet cokes). We made a quick money exchange and headed for the cafe where we were served a delicious hamburger and French fries. I sprinkled my fries with what I thought to be the salt but turned out to be vanilla for the coffee.

Around 5:30 they began calling for the flight to Trinidad/Tobago. I knew our flight was not until 6:30 and that we were going to St. Vincent. Norman was reading and I was people watching. They did a final call and Norman asked me if I was sure this was not our flight. I began to wonder and checked the departure sign again, still no mention of St Vincent. I finally asked the agent and sure enough it was our flight. We quickly went through the checkout and were personally escorted to the plane(may I add we were the last ones to board).

They dropped us off in St Vincent which was another tiny place-no cafe but it did have a liquor store. We finally arrived in Grenada around 10:00 pm. Luke picked us up at the airport. It was good to get a big hug from him.

One of his friends had gone home for the break so we were able to stay in her place which was located right next door to Luke's. Keri, a sweet young lady from Canada, had bought snacks, water and juice for us and had placed chocolate and flowers on our pillows. What a nice welcome we received!!!

The next morning we heard a whistle and it was Luke bringing Norman some coffee. We visited briefly with him before he left for his exam. Later we met him and his study buddies at Nick's Donut Shop - apparently that is an after exam ritual. The rest of the day we spent hanging out at the beach. That night we all gathered at his place and watched him prepare a delicious meal of spaghetti with girl scout cookies for dessert. Yes, siblings, he cooked-pictures to prove it!!! I guess all that sou chef training he has had with Ryan has paid off.

Friday was the campus and island tour day with Luke and Lorin, a precious girl from Trinidad. Luke was not cooperating with my photo ops so Lorin graciously stepped in. Being able to see all the places he has told us about was a real treat-school,church, grocery store and all the places where he and Mark run everyday-some very beautiful views. More beach time and a meal at the local Owl Restaurant with Keri,Luke and Lorin.

Saturday he and Mark(a 50+ Californian who decided to pursue a new career as an MD, he already has a PHD in engineering)went on an early morning scuba dive. Norman and I opted out of that trip but we were able to sit on the beach and watch them gear up, leave and return. That night I fixed French toast, Keri fixed sausage, bacon and a fruit bowl and Mark fixed pancakes. It was delicious!! It was so neat how everyone fixes whatever and gathers wherever to share all their meals together. Coffee and tea were always served after the meal and much conservation was enjoyed.

Sunday we all piled in the car and headed for church, which is held on campus in one of the lecture halls. It was a wonderful service with lots of good singing. We all met at the La Boulangrie(an Italian place) for lunch after which Norman, Luke, Keri and I decided to go snorkeling. Let's just say we gave everyone on the beach quite a laugh-with both of us (Norman and I) trying to put on our flippers while being crashed by the waves-(Help, I have fallen and can't get up) It was not a pretty site. Once we finally made it into the water Luke and I (Norman decided snorkeling was not his forte)were able to see some pretty black and white stripped fish, some yellow ones and some pretty blue ones. I can't believe I grew up in Florida and had never been snorkeling. Once I stopped drinking the water and realized I could breathe through my month it was really neat! Thanks, Luke for your patience.

Sunday night Hamid and Ciara, two other friends, prepared a fabulous, authentic Afghan meal of spinach/potatoes, eggplant, grilled chicken and shrimp, and a wonderful chocolate cake, and of course coffee and tea. Hamid kept us all laughing throughout the meal. Later Luke and Norman went to a flag football game where Luke's team ended up losing in the last 12 secs. He was not a happy camper.

Monday the game face mode kicked in for Luke and it was back to the grind of studying. Norman and I spent most of the day on the beach just relaxing. We made a trip to the grocery store but did not realize how steep the walk back up with 6 bags of groceries was-worked up a bit of a sweat!!!.

Tuesday everyone had classes so Norman and I made a trip to the school bookstore for some souvenir shopping. We were also able to visit the memorial for the 16 Marines who lost their lives to rescue the American medical students in the 1983 invasion of Grenada.

It truly was a blessing to meet all of the wonderful people Luke has as his friends and to meet some to the locals that also help care for Luke. How truly blessed he is to be in such a special place surrounded by such nice people. They are so encouraging to one another. Thanks be to God for allowing me to see how He has surrounded Luke with His love and care.

Luke and Lorin took us to the airport early Wednesday morning and although I hated to say goodbye, I was going home knowing he was in good hands. Our flight home was long but uneventful, thank goodness. Our cab driver met us in St. Lucia and took us to a wonderful local restaurant on our way back to the international airport. There we enjoyed fresh grapefruit juice, king fish, plantains, salad and a banana/ice cream dessert that was heavenly.

It was indeed one of the best trips ever.

Mexico in March (compliments of JD)

Norman and I had the wonderful opportunity to be host for the 2010 Manager's Club in Pueto Vallarta, Mexico. We met many nice new people and visited with some familiar faces, as well. The trip was one of the best! We arrived on Thursday afternoon to a the beautiful Grand Velas Suites & Spa. Our room was huge and had a beautiful view overlooking the pool and the Pacific Ocean. We slept with our door open every night so we could be lulled to sleep by the crashing of the oceans waves. It was like a sedative. On Friday our activity was a Canopy Tour. We met in the open-air lobby around 9:30 and were greeted by two vivacious young tour guides - Nada and Poncho. They were so full of energy. After about an hour's ride through the country, we arrived to our destination "the middle of know where". There we were suited up with harnesses, bandanas, and helmets. We were given a quick lesson on zip-lining and then we were off for our hike up the mountain. We were surrounded by more energitic zippers who affectionately called us Maria Jose' and Papa Norman. One at a time we watched the people ahead of us fly through the air over the top of the trees and suddenly it was my turn. Marco hooked the bottom line and then the top. I placed my left hand around the ropes and my right on top of the bottom line and was reminded to gently press down when given the signal to break at the bottom of the ride. DO NOT GRAB THE ROPE!!! I sat down gently, let go of the line and off I went flying through the air (screaming, of course). I watched for the signal to break at the bottom and immediately grabbed the rope. Needless, to say I got quite a jerk but landed safely on the next platform with the help of Phillipe. My legs were like jelly but I was ready to go again. We did around 12-15 lines, repelled twice, crossed 2 very shaky wooden bridges, and climbed a 75' swinging ladder!!!! It was AWESOME and I highly reccommend it to everyone over 50.

The next day our activity was riding ATV's out in the country. A 5 minute lesson on how to drive an ATV was given, a helmet and another bandana and off we went. Norman and I were at the very back on the line. I had never driven an ATV so I was a little nervous to say the least! The guide kept motioning for me to go faster and faster, then finally moved me to the front of the line. After I realized I was not going to die, I really enjoyed the trip. Not sure I every got the shifting of the gears right but it was really a lot of fun. We traveled through real Mexican villages,passed cows in the middle of the road, along with true cowboys on horseback, and splashed through mud puddles.

For more pictures see my facebook page.

Thimble, Thimble Whose Got the Thimble???

When I was a little girl we liked to play this game.

Well....































One of the things Norman and I enjoy doing together is going to Estate Sales. We love visiting some of the old homes of Atlanta and stepping back in time. I always want to know who lived there, what did they do, what happened to them, etc. Sometimes if you listen (you know I am good at that) you can find the answers to some of these questions. Its amazing what you can learn about a person just by rummaging through their stuff.

Saturday was the perfect day for estate saling. The air was crisp and the leaves were in all of their fall glory!!!! We plugged in our addresses and off we went. Just to clarify the difference in a yard sale and an estate sale...The words "estate sale" can mean different things depending on the quality of the person's "junk" or to coin an old phrase -"one man's junk is another man's treasure". But what we have found to be true is if you replace the word "yard" with the word "estate" the price immediately jumps up at least 50%. You have to be careful.(You could end up with an organ no one needs-inside family joke that is still sitting in our living room).

On this particular day we hit some of both. I found 4 Mardi Gras mask, 4 boas and 3 Disney videos for the kids. We saw an exercise machine like the one my Aunt Aubrey use to have. (Just had to have a picture of that!) And a Coleman stove the size of my first microwave. Can we say - Where is the dumpster????

We visited a very old house out by the Governor's Mansion with beautiful trees, terrace landscaping, an elevator, lots of old dishes and books. I found a prayer book entitled A Diary of Private Prayer copyright 1949. It has a morning and evening prayer and lots of handwritten notes. Inside was folded a piece of paper with this prayer - "For Those We Love" - "Almighty God, we entrust all who are dear to us to thy never-failing care and love, for this life and the life to come, knowing that thou art doing for them better things than we can desire or pray for; through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen." I thought that was very well said. I also found a copy of C.S.Lewis' Mere Christianity .(I have always heard of this book but have never read it. I look forward to doing so). Tucked inside of this book was a bookmark that said, "My Grace is Sufficent for Thee". Another lady found a "Leaves of Gold" poetry book which had been a gift from Governor Carl E. Sanders (Governor of Georgia in 1963).

Our final stop of the day brought Norman's "find"... Let me preface this by saying, I have never been a collector of anything but dust, which by the way is easy to collect but not very profitable. However, someone was and now I am a collector of thimbles. I am now the proud owner of over 200 of them!!! We actually detached the display case from the wall with the thimbles still inside. They threw in many of the original boxes at no extra charge. You know Norman, he is quite the negotiator. When we got home we were like two kids on Christmas morning looking at all the different thimbles. Some of them are just sourvenir types from over 50 different US cities, more than 60 are from places all over the world and some are just very unique. It also included a complete set of 25 Country Store Collection Thimbles with papers for each.

I have taken pictures of a few of my favorites. So if you are looking for the perfect gift for Christmas for someone who collects thimbles, we are looking to turn a profit and can fix you up!!! Otherwise, these thimbles will one day be a "find" for someone at our estate sale. Enjoy.