July 1 through 10:
Thursday, July 1 thru Saturday, July 3. While Dad stayed at home, I attended a 3-day fundraiser for the North River Care Pregnancy Center. While 29 of us enjoyed catching up with one another as we each participated in our own crafting, we were served 5 delicious meals and many snacks all while raising over $4,000 for the non-profit organization through raffles such as pictured below and other donations.
Sunday was July 4. We sang a lot of patriotic music in church and even listened to a reading of the Declaration of Independence. Of course, in the evening there were fireworks great and small. We chose to stay home but JP, Kellie and Emma had some sparklers and they rode their golf cart down the street to see a presentation of fireworks by one of the many sheriff’s deputies who live in the subdivision.
On Monday, I picked up medicine for both Dad and me as well as some groceries that we might need during the impending storm then just chilled the rest of the day.
Tuesday, July 6, brought Tropical Storm Elsa into our area. We got out first thunderstorm from a feeder band at 11:18 in the morning. I know the time because it caused our electricity to flicker, which meant that I had to reset some of our clocks and wait for our wi-fi router to reset itself. The rain continued through Wednesday morning, but had let up enough for me to go to church and choir practice on Wednesday night. Thursday was another quiet day. On Friday, 7/9, Emma and I went to breakfast at a local Waffle House and then ran a couple of errands before returning home at noon. Saturday, the 10th, Dad came down with the sniffles, so we decided he should stay home from church tomorrow to avoid exposing anyone else.
Sunday, 7/11 through Thursday, 7/22:
On Sunday, Emma and some of the girls in her Sunday school class started our church service by singing When I Look At Your Heavens (with Hand Motions) which was based on Psalm 8:3-4.
During the summer, I try to do something special with Emma at least once a week. Monday found us at nearby Rye Wilderness Preserve for a picnic; a little fun on the playground equipment and a short hike. My first stop on Tuesday, 7/13, was at my doctor’s office for a blood draw. They will run an A1C test on it which will determine whether my rotator cuff surgery can be rescheduled in August or will have to be put off until November. I left the doctor’s office and went to the pregnancy center for my usual Tuesday morning volunteer work. From there, I met my friend, Ruth Baker, for lunch and then went to church to do some volunteer work there but learned that a lightning strike on Sunday afternoon had knocked out the internet service, so I went home with plans to get my work done next week.
On Wednesday, 7/14, I got my haircut in the morning and went to church and choir practice in the evening. I haven’t seen my brother-in-law, Edward, since his birthday in April, so Thursday, 7/15, I decided to drive over to Ormond Beach for a short visit with him. Dad has been concerned about the pre-arrangements he made years ago with the cemetery in Daytona Beach where my mother, her mother and his mother are buried, so I made an appointment for him to review his contract and verify what all had been pre-paid. The gentleman we met with, David Collins, was very helpful and set Dad’s mind at ease that all that could be done and paid for in advance had been taken care of. Friday the 16th while I was volunteering at the Palm View First Baptist Church food bank, I received a call from the church office letting me know that some of the pre-school Sunday school staff had tested positive for Covid-19. Since I had spoken directly to the preschool teacher on Sunday (to tell her that she looked like she didn’t feel well) I have decided to self-isolate as much as possible for the next week. The call was also to inform me that the Vacation Bible School/Day Camp for which Emma had registered and I had volunteered to help with was being postponed from this coming week to an undetermined date in the future. On Tuesday, July 20, I went to my doctor’s office to get the results of my A1C and, if low enough for my rotator cuff surgery to be rescheduled, to get pre-op testing done and paperwork completed. The nurse practitioner, Nicole, was extremely impressed with my progress. My A1C has dropped from 8.1 to 6.9 which was enough to get the surgery rescheduled. Also, in trying to reduce my sugar, I lost 17 pounds since January. This was mostly accomplished by limiting my carb intake. She signed off on my medical clearance for the surgery and did an EKG. She told me that the surgeon’s office would have everything that they needed from my primary physician by the end of the day. I spent the day Thursday getting ready for my annual trip to Compass Cay, Exumas, Bahamas. This year, in addition to J.P., Kellie and Emma, I will be joined by my niece, Reverend Melissa Cambre Frantz, Assistant Minister at the Daytona Beach Drive-In Christian Church. Since her father, my brother Rick, couldn’t come to stay with Dad for our trip (as he has the last two years), I went to the Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport Thursday night to pick up our younger brother, Bill, who has graciously volunteered to stay with Dad for the long weekend while we are away. We leave here at 7 in the morning.
July 23 through 26 – Compass Cay, Exumas, Bahamas
We left our house at 7:30 a.m. on Friday with J.P. driving us down to the Ft. Lauderdale Executive Airport where we met my niece, Melissa. We boarded our 12:45 p.m. Makers Air Flight making a quick stop at the San Andros airport on Andros Island to check in with the Bahamas Customs. We landed at Staniel Cay just after 3:00 and caught a ride to the Staniel Cay Yacht Club to get a required Covid test needed to return to the US. Once we arrived, they told us it was too soon to get the test and rescheduled our appointment to tomorrow. While we were there, I noticed a large yacht called Blackhawk and remembered that it had been there in 2013 when my brother, Bill and wife Mary, came to visit Rick and me. They told us that the boat belonged to the owner of the Chicago Blackhawk’s National Hockey team.
Saturday, 7/24
After breakfast we walked to the marina from the Crescent Beach House where we were staying to catch a ride with the owner of the island, Tucker Rolle, back to Staniel Cay to get our Covid tests. While Tucker continued south to Blackpoint, Bob came in a smaller boat and picked us up to bring us back to Compass after getting the tests. On the way back, he stopped at Big Majors Spot so that we could all see the swimming pigs. See below.
If you haven’t been to see these swimming pigs in a few years, you’ll notice that their surroundings have changed a great deal. When we first came to see them, in 2012, it was just a beach with few if any people and no one on the beach with the pigs (as they would bite!) You can see from the photo above that has certainly changed.
We continued a few miles north to Compass Cay where we went swimming with the sharks.
While we were at the marina, we all received similar e-mails like the one below.
When I asked Trevon, Tucker’s grandson, who works in the marina office, if I could order four World Famous Tucker Burgers for lunch, he told me that they would not be able to make them until mid-afternoon because they were just too busy with the many day tours that had come to swim with the sharks. So, we returned to the Crescent Beach House to eat some lunch and let Emma paint a very special sign.
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Later that afternoon, we all went swimming at Crescent Beach. Tucker has built two pavilions at the beach for guests to sit comfortably in the shade. Below is the view from one of them.
Sunday, 7/25
We let JP and Kellie sleep in while Melissa, Emma and I walked over to the marina for another swim with the sharks. I asked Melissa to pose in front of the view we had from our front porch.
One of Tucker’s sons, Loan Rolle, gave the three of us a ride back to the house on one of the four bright orange Kubotas that they have on the island.
After eating brunch, we headed to the newer of the two Crescent Beach pavilions to have a small ceremony for the hanging of Emma’s sign. JP put the initial screw in the sign and Bob said he would add more after we left.
Note: You can click on any picture to get a better view.
After the sign ceremony, we took Melissa up to Hester’s Ruins and sat on the bench overlooking the ocean were JP, Rick’s brother, Edward, and I scattered some of Rick’s ashes three years ago on the first anniversary of his passing. This is why I come back close to July 28th each year.
After a delicious spaghetti supper (thanks Kellie), we walked over again to the marina so that Melissa could see the boats with their underwater lights on after dark. Then, while JP and I started packing, the girls went on a night hunt. They saw a few “critters” but mostly came back in awe of the thousands of stars they saw in the night sky.
Monday, 7/26
We all arose early on Monday morning; ate breakfast; and got our luggage out on the porch to be loaded onto a Kubota to go back to the marina. We left JP at the house to help Bob load up and we walked to the marina. Tucker gave us a ride to the Staniel Cay Airport as he and daughter, Natalie were scheduled to take a flight out just a few minutes after us. The picture below shows me with Trevon, Natalie and Tucker.
mWhen we landed in Ft. Lauderdale, just before noon, we said goodbye to Melissa as she went home to Port Orange, Florida (the Daytona Beach area) and we returned to Parrish, Florida (the Tampa Bay area.)
July 27 through 31
Tuesday, 7/27, I called the surgeon’s office to verify that they had received my medical clearance from my primary doc. They said yes, but Felecia was out of the office and she would have to call me back. As the week continued, I left more messages for her but did not receive a call back. I am still holding out hope that the surgery can be performed on the 3rd, but if that is not possible, I hope it will be done on the 10th of August.
Wednesday, July 28th was the 4th anniversary of Rick’s passing. I had lunch with granddaughter, Vanessa, before we went to the cemetery to put new flowers at Papi’s rock.
Saturday, the 31st, found me at church for a Senior Saints home-made ice cream social. One of our couples made both vanilla and peach ice cream to share with our group of 12. We played some ice cream related games and our senior adult pastor ended our meeting pointing out the importance of fellowship mentioned in the Bible.
On a more serious note, I have not mentioned the Coronavirus lately because it looked like things were getting much better. The president set a goal for 70% of Americans to be vaccinated against the virus by July the 4th. We did not meet that goal, but came close. Those over the age of 55 did meet the 70% goal. Masks were no longer required and many group events were scheduled. Unfortunately, over the last two weeks of July, a delta variant of the virus has swept across the nation and the number of new cases is at its highest. Florida is a “hot spot”, and the CDC has again recommended that everyone wear a mask when indoors. This recommendation includes those that are vaccinated as they might transmit this new variant without realizing it. With this in mind, Dad and I will be staying home a lot more for a while.
Our journey has been inspired by Joy and Steve Fredrick. You can see more of their story at