2024 was an interesting year..

When Barb is at a restaurant, tastes the food and says "interesting", well, that could mean a number of things and usually "great" is not one of them.
As was this past year, there were some great things and well, some "interesting"...not so great.

NOT SO GREAT..

In February we hopped on a plane for the short flight to Cabo San Lucas. It's an annual event and we stay with our close friends, John Tobias and Jesse Sovella. They have a time share at a place called the Grand Solmar at "lands end". It is quite a secluded resort on the ocean side, and not far from the famous arch. The shore break there can be pretty treacherous so we spend most of the time hanging by the pools at this awesome resort.

On the positive side, we couldn't have asked for a better spot to quarantine. The beach faces South and when the sun sets, it appears to be setting in the North. Usually, the sunsets do not disappoint. We also watch whales daily, right from our balcony. At times they have come within 20 feet of the shoreline.

Ok, even with Covid, we will call this GREAT!

REALLY GREAT!

There was a total eclipse of the sun on April 8th but we were nowhere near the zone of totality. Time for another road trip with Tessie. One of the closest points for us was Texas, and we figured if we are going to drive all the way to Texas, we might as well visit Big Bend National Park in Southwestern Texas on the way. Yes, this park is somewhat isolated and out of the way but neither of us had ever been there and it was on our "list". So, on March 26th, we hit the road again. Little did we know at the time, we would go as far as Columbus, Ohio and it would be a 6,082 mile trip!

We were gone for 24 days! It seems like a lot just to spend 4 minutes watching a solar eclipse BUT, if you have ever seen totality, you know it is worth it.

We went on fun hikes along the way, spent 4 days at Big Bend NP and even snuck across the border into Mexico (no big fence ha ha). Electric vehicle charging is scarce in the Big Bend area so we stayed in an RV park and juiced up Tessie each evening while we slept. It worked well! Plus, with heat pump technology, we could maintain a constant climate in "camp mode" while we slept.

Along the way, we visited two presidental libraries and three cave systems. We visited Barbs cousin Paul and his husband, Jim in Memphis, and, with some last minute decisions, had perfect conditions for the eclipse in Vincennes, IN. If you would liike to see a summary of this trip with lots of "really great" images,click on the Eclipse Link at the bottom of this page. Plus, check out the (also really great) eclipse movie (9 min) - link also at the bottom.

REALLY NOT GREAT!

Barb had rotator cuff surgery on May 21st. The backstory: A couple of years back, Barb was walking Perhaps, her horse. Now, Perhaps was known as a "scaredy cat", er, "scaredy horse". Well, something spooked her, maybe a mouse. So she reared up while Barb was holding the reins, wrenching her arm. Ever since that day there was a pain in her shoulder. X-rays showed the need for surgery.

This is a common operation and Barb had an excellent surgeon but the physical therapy and recovery time for these repairs are long, like six months long. So, every week until December 16th she would go in for PT. As you might imagine, Barb was one of the doctors best patients. She did all the exercises and is now almost fully recovered.

Next up: To celebrate our new freedom from the PT lady, we are planning a fun trip to Cabo and Southern Mexico (Merida, Palenque, other ruins, swim in sink holes, snorkel the reefs), perhaps most of February.

It should be REALLY GREAT!