Sunday, July 6, 2008

Hello everyone! It's been a fun weekend here. We left off with us going to see fireworks on the 4th in the breezeway at the hospital. It is a second story cross walk across the main road where the hospital is located to the medical buildings at the University of South Florida across the street. Makes it easy for staff and patients to go back and forth. There are tables and chairs on our side and people eat their lunch there, etc. Well, we all decided that was the place to watch the fireworks from Busch Gardens which is just down the road. A group of us went and found the automatic doors not operating.

When we called down to the administration desk, we were told that the doors would remain locked and that we were not allowed out there. We asked for an escort, but they wouldn't comply. Two of our "walkie-talkie" soldiers (as we like to refer to those guys well enough to get around) said they went out there all the time after hours and were able to open the door. So, our group of long timers and families (about 20 of us) got ourselves settled and watched firework displays all along the horizon, not just from Busch, but from many of the surrounding communities as well. It was wonderful, especially for the kids. We have two new little boys staying here with us and their dad is new to our ward, and we had the niece and nephew of one of our soldiers, who were visiting for the weekend with their parents. At about the end of the displays, one of the VA police came up and strolled around and then told us we had to leave. Some of the group were a bit disgruntled with him, but I went over to him (ever the peacemaker that I am) and thanked him for waiting until the displays were finished. He shrugged and said he had tried to hold out as long as possible, but he was required to follow the rules even if he didn't agree with them. Thankfully, we were able to see some very nice displays and the day ended well.

Yesterday, Mark, Jess and I went out for lunch and a trip to the Sponge Docks in Tarpon Springs. Tarpon Springs is a beautiful old community on the Gulf and was settled by Greek sponge divers over a hundred year ago. It has antique shops and Victorian houses along the inlets and estuaries. It is very picturesque. We walked up and down among the touristy shops on the docks and when it got too warm we got back in the van and tooled around the nice neighborhoods before coming home. We were going to go out to dinner in Ybor City, which is the Cuban part of Tampa, with our "family" group, but Mark was very tired and so Jess went along with them alone. Mark and I stayed back, had dinner and watched the Yankees (okay, okay) with a new patient and his family who are from New Jersey. At least they beat the Red Sox, so everyone was happy.

Today, the Tampa chapter of Vietnam Veterans of America hosted a cookout for the patients and families staying here at Fisher House. It was a wonderful lunch of hot dogs, hamburgers and all the trimmings. That is until the storms rolled in. Currently, we are waiting for them to pass and then we are off to see Wall-E, which Mark is looking forward to very much.

Hope all of you enjoyed your three day respite, since as Mark says, "It's back to work tomorrow."