Southwick Beach State Park - Sept.17-21, 2012

We left Pittsford early on Monday because it was a sunny day and we wanted to get there and go to the beach.  Just after Central Square exit off Route 81, Mike pulled over and I got into the driver's seat and drove for the next 20 miles.  It was a little scary, but I did ok.  I guess we are going to do this more often so I will build up my confidence and get used to it. We got there and set up, ate lunch and went to the beach.  The beach was very, very wide with hard pack sand; it was great.  Tues. it rained all day so we played cards, read, and worked on computers.  When we went to bed the wind was blowing really, really hard.  The Weather Channel said 20/30 mph winds with gusts up to 45 mph.  Didn't get much sleep cause so windy and noisy.  Wed. it was blue sky and sun but cool. In the morning the guy from last year in his green beach buggy was on the beach.  He is neat to watch because he uses a parachute type apparatus to get his buggy to move.  We took a bike ride down the beach because of the wide pack sand; it was easy.  We came back and read outside the RV in the sun; it was nice there.  We had a fire over at Claude and Janet's site.  They were the only couple there from the ones we met in June.  Thurs. we woke up to 49 degrees, brrr cold. It was sunny but cool outside.  We took another bike ride on the beach and went down the other direction.  When we started back there was quite a bit of wind, so we ended up walking our bikes most of the way back to the RV.  While on the beach there was a kiteboarder out in the lake.  It was fun watching him jump the waves and go so fast. We spent the rest of the afternoon reading outside our RV in the sun.  Claude and Janet came over and joined us at our campfire.  On Friday we got ready and headed for home around 11:30.  Another great time at Southwick Beach.

Southwick Beach State Park June 4 -18, 2012

                                                             Katie & Witney

                                                              Mike & Will

                                                             Mike & Will

                                                                 Witney

Will with Katie & Bill in background

               Sitting around campfire at Southwick Beach, Will, Grandpa, Witney, Grandma

We arrived at Southwick Beach State Park on Monday, 6/4/12, to a cloudy day.  Tues we had sun so we went to beach for the afternoon. At night we joined Claude and Janet, 2 camp neighbors, for a campfire across the street to an empty site.  2 other couples joined us.  Wed. we were at the beach but it was cool, so I dressed warmly.  Around 8:30PM, Katie and the children arrived. Witney slept in her pack and play which was placed with 2 legs on the dashboard and 2 legs on a board which went across the arms of the passenger chair. We wrapped a sheet around the outside so she could not see anybody unless she stood up.  That arrangement worked out really well.  On Thurs. we rode our bikes up to the playground so the kids could play.  Katie brought up Will's little bike plus the kid trailer for the back of her bike so Witney had a place to ride.  In the afternoon we all went to the beach.  The kids played in the sand and went in the water.  After supper Will and Grandpa set up the fire and started it and we made smores.  Friday it was cool so we rode our bikes around the park and after lunch, we just went for a walk down at the beach.  Bill showed up around around 4:30PM.  Will wanted to go swimming with his Dad so they did even though it was cool out.  We had another campfire.  Sat. we woke up to rain so we decided to go into Watertown and see the movie Madagaster 3, then stopped and had lunch at TGIF.  The Zink family went to the beach and jumped some waves but not for long because it was cool and windy.  We had another fire with smores.  Sunday woke up to a sunny day.  We headed down to the beach after breakfast because we didn't know how long the sun would be out.  We had a wonderful day at the beach, played in water, built dribble castles, played ball.  After supper the Zink family left.  On Monday Peggy and Gordon Heinzman drove up to spend the day with us.  It was another gorgeous day and we spent the afternoon at the beach.  They left after the sun set and it was so  warm, we did not have a fire. Tues. it rained all day, no fire.  Wed. was very windy and cool so we just walked the beach.  That night we had a fire across the street on an empty site with 4 other couples.  Thurs. we woke up to a beautiful day.  Sue Miller and Diane Reeve drove up to spend the day with us.  We spent the afternoon on the beach. When we came up from the beach we had cocktails and snacks and played Hand and Foot, a card game. Mike and Diane won.  They left after supper.  We had a fire across the street on an empty site with the other couples. Friday, Saturday and Sunday were nice sunny blue sky days.  We went to the beach each day.  On Sat. we walked the nature walk, which was a nice walk.  It was warm enough on Sat.that I even went into the water and went way out.  We had campfires each night.  On Monday June 18th we left for home.

Winter 2012

We were supposed to leave for Florida on Sunday Jan. 8th, but we had to cancel our 2012 trip because Mike had rotator cuff surgery on Dec. 5th. The doctor said he could not drive for 8 weeks or more and he wasn't moving his left arm at all.

This all started on Oct. 15 at Michael Zimet's wedding. We were at the reception when Mike got up to use the bathroom, but unknown to him, his feet were tangled up in the chair covers and he fell on his left shoulder. He went to urgent care in VA and they said nothing was broken so after 2 weeks and still in pain he went to urgent care and they suggested going to an orthpedic surgeon. He went and they wanted him to have an MRI and the results was a 2 1/2 cm tear in his rotator cuff.

We started PT (twice a week) four weeks after surgery. He was told to take the sling off after 6 weeks. After 8 weeks he finally came upstairs and slept in his own bed; he had been sleeping in his recliner chair in the family room since he got home from the hospital. 11 weeks out he is almost doing everything for himself except putting his socks on and helping with putting his coat on. His range of motion is getting better every time we go see the PT guy, John Borden. His goal is to play golf in June.