Oh Great - Now It's November

I've been an absentee blogger. Every time I think I have a handle on things, I am so wrong. My health has been a little weird lately. I had a cold in early September and still have a fever. Weird. Have been investigated for a few things and now all I know is that I have an enlarged spleen and a hiatal hernia (eew). So, there will be more doctor's appointments in my future. Hate it.
We just returned for our annual Down South Odyssey. It was fab & exhausting!

• Day One: Dawn & Terry's place in Vinton, VA (need to upload photos from my phone). Finally met Dawn's husband. What a sweetheart! They made us feel so at home. We went to a nearby playground so Joe could let off a little steam and then went out to a very nice Indian restaurant. Afterwards, we went to see the Mill Mountain Star. It was really amazing - but quite cold outside. In the morning, Terry made us a delicious breakfast. Gosh, we had a great visit.
• Day Two: Julia & Steve's place in Clover, SC (some photos on FlickR check them out). Finally met Julia's boyfriend, Steve. He seems like a terrific guy! The kids are wild about him and he and Julia were wonderful hosts to us. The whole gang of us went to a nearby Mexican restaurant for dinner and had a great meal. It was fun visiting with everyone - but our visit was too short!
• Days Three & Four: Long drive. In the evening, finally arrived at Dad & Suzanne's in Orlando, FL. Suzanne immediately took over spoiling Joe and it was so relaxing for me! The first night we went to Outback Steakhouse. I ordered a fish special and it was so yummy. I think it was flounder. The next night, Suzanne made a delicious dinner and I remarked to Matt that for the first time in 3 years I'd had the luxury of sitting completely through a meal. I really enjoyed seeing them both.
• Days Five, Six & Seven: In the early afternoon we arrived at Matt's folk's house in Summerfield, FL. Mom made some yummy chicken soup for dinner that night. When I woke the next morning, my temp. was 102.2 and I felt awful. Because I'd been running a fever for so long, I decided I'd better see a doc. Went to an urgent care facility and ended up with an abdominal/pelvic CT scan. Fun stuff. So, that was that day. Last day was Pop's 80th birthday. He's a powerhouse! Still plays 4 softball games/week. We took them out to dinner at Harry's and I recommend you try the food there if you're ever in Ocala.
• Day Eight: Drove up to Savannah, Ga and stopped by the Catholic Cemetery to pay respects to family, then onto Winnebow, NC to visit my Uncle Lee & Aunt Dottie. They have an amazingly beautiful home and were so welcoming to us.

Finally, we returned home. There are a few Joe Adventures from the journey, but I'll save those for another post. Everyone we visited seemed to be doing great, and all treated us like royalty. Maybe we should travel more often!