On Friday, February 24, Al and I went to the Naval base with the Tin Can Sailors to tour the new Destroyer Farragut. It has a positive pressure hull and is only about 5 years old. The navy is retiring its older destroyers; this is the ship of the future. We had a great time, the sailors were friendly to us, and I had a pleasant surprise. I had my choice between staying on the bridge deck and not going up and down stairs or taking the full tour with 5-6 levels of stairs. I stepped out on the promises of God and took the full tour. Our guide said we were going to climb to the top deck, the bridge, and work our way down. I thought, “Well, that will be nice. I’ll do the hardest part first and get it over with.” To my surprise, after the initial climb, I had no problem! I was winded at first but I recovered much more quickly. It took about 5 minutes for me to catch my breath but the tour was easy after that. I was able to keep up with everyone! God came through with His promises, as usual!

On February 29 we flew to Maryland to visit my sister Ivia and other friends and relatives in the Virginia/Maryland area. Besides my sister, I visited my childhood friend Sharon in Richmond, Belle and her family in Richmond (Belle is a former co-worker), and our cousins Bill and Sarah and their 3 children in Stafford, Virginia. Again I had a pleasant surprise! We visited museums and stayed in 2-story houses and I was able to walk and climb stairs with no problem! On the last day in Stafford we had a picnic and took a hike in the woods in a historic Virginia park called Government Island. I walked a mile and a half up and down through hilly woods! I had to stop and rest 3-4 times, but that was okay. There were historic markers along the way, so I would stop there to read them. This park is the site of a stone quarry; the white stone was cut in 20-foot blocks and used to make the decorative corner stones on the government buildings in Washington, DC.

Speaking of history, I want to thank those who corrected my last blog on the B-52 bombers. I learned that those bombers were made in the 1950s and were jets. The prop plane bombers we see in the WW II movies were B-17s or B-19s. I also want to thank all of you who shared your similar prop plane stories with me! I enjoyed many a laugh, although your stories, like mine, weren’t funny at the time. And special kudos to my friend Susan in Spain, who recognized that I was on an American Airlines “American Eagle” Flight! Beware if you are booking flights from one city in Florida to another! If you get booked on an American Airlines “American Eagle” Flight, it’s probably a prop plane!

In the early spring the Virginia woods were similar to the way they were in the fall, which was my favorite time of the year when I was growing up there. I loved walking and hearing the dead leaves rustling under my feet. The weather was just right – not too cold or too hot. That is just what is was like on this spring day in Virginia and it brought back many pleasant childhood memories. In Florida, we don’t have a fall so spring is my favorite time of the year. When Al and I returned from our trip, it was springtime in Florida and there was resurrection in my garden! New leaves growing on dormant plants and flowers in bloom! Pictures show the first Mexican Petunia bloom of the spring, azaleas, and red flowers in the tubs. Also seen is the USS Farragut from the pier (see all the steps I had to climb just to board it?) and me on the deck; it was windy that day.

My next post is going to be entitled “The Cherry Pits”. Whenever Al and I have a run of bad luck and everything starts to go wrong, we find humor in the situations by referring to our lives as a soap opera, aptly entitled “The Cherry Pits”. So stay tuned for the first blog posting of the first episode of “The Cherry Pits”!