TipToe's little hiatus

Well folks, we have to take a little hiatus from our trip. Just to backtrack a little - from the Sassafrass River we went to Annapolis where we stayed a couple of days before heading on to Solomon's Island (on Thursday) about another 35 miles down the eastern shore of the Chesapeake.

Along the way, Albert began getting what he thought was acid reflux (which he has had before). To keep a long story a little short, at 4 a.m. Friday morning we got a taxi to St. Mary's Hospital who then called for a helicopter (that got there in 20 minutes) to take us to Washington Hospital Center in Washington DC. This hospital is the best cardiac hospital in the whole eastern coast of the United States. (Who knew?!) People come from all over to be treated here. It is a teaching and research hospital. Because they could not seem to control the pain and blood pressure with drugs, they decided to do "Cardiac Cathederization" (a dye test) done through the groin. They discovered a blockage and fixed it on the spot with two stents. (Albert was awake for the whole thing!) So he was in recovery when I went to see him and I still hadn't been told that he had had a heart attack. It was only when the nurse came by to check on him that we asked the question and got the answer. His heart attack was a medium sized one but fortunately, because everything was done so quickly, he has minimal damage to his heart and should be good as new in about a month.

Albert's brother Yvon, his wife Connie and our daughter Lise drove to Washington from home in Nova Scotia on Saturday (the day after the heart attack). They got to Washington on Sunday around 10 a.m. By then, Albert was in a regular room and feeling a whole lot better. On Monday, Albert was released and, after a brief tour of Washington DC's landmarks, we headed off back to Solomon's Island and TipToe.

Luckily, our boat was at the Solomon Island Marina which uses the facilities at the Holiday Inn (which overlooks the marina). So we had made reservations for ourselves, Connie & Yvon and Heather & Pete (who were at another marina about 20 minutes away by taxi but hours away by boat). After a tearful but joyful reunion, we had supper and made plans for what to do with TipToe.

Tuesday morning, Heather & Lise went off to fill Albert's new prescriptions, Pete & Yvon began winterizing the boat and Connie & I started cleaning out the boat. Everything went like clockwork and by noon, we were ready to leave. TipToe will remain in the water until we return. A big thank you to Richard and everyone at the marina. They were so helpful, generous and obliging...I can't thank them enough. Also, thanks to our new friends Dick & Ruth Foster, our ice box was cleaned out so nothing went bad or to waste.

After a sad farewell to Heather & Pete (who will continue the trip) we set off for as far as we could get that day. We had lots of offers from family & friends to stay along the way, but decided that we would stay wherever was closest to where we were when we decided we'd had enough. Around 8 p.m. we arrived at Neil & Grace LeBlanc's in Massachussets. They opened their house to us for which we are very grateful. After a good night's sleep, we left around 8:30 a.m. and were on our way - but first a quick stop to see Connie's mother Esther and her husband Gordon. We got to Moncton by 8:30 p.m. and spent the night at the Holiday Inn, left again by 7 a.m. on Thursday and were home by noon.

I don't know how to thank everyone, especially Connie & Yvon. We would have been up the creek without a paddle without their intervention. Heather & Pete have always been there for us, and missed valuable travel time to make sure we were alright. Our baby Lise (OK she's almost 27, but still my baby) helped and still is helping me keep a sharp eye on Albert. (He's already complaining!) We love you all. Words just aren't enough...

So, now we're home and will stay until after Christmas. Then, we will make plans to return to TipToe and continue our trip. We probably won't make the Bahamas because the timing might be wrong, but we can still continue on down to the Florida keys, go around the bottom and up the western side maybe. Whatever we decide, it will still be an adventure for us and for TipToe.

I'll keep you "posted"...(hahaha - play on words, get it?)