Well, we are back from our visit over to see Colleen and Ray. And what a great time it was!

Colleen had walked me through all the details of the ferry and she was spot on. It was cloudy when we left the house - warm tho. But the sun came through just as we arrived at the Port. And they certainly make this easy. You mention "handicapped" when you check in and they take it from there. We were directed onto the Ferry after motorcycles and some very neat antique cars. Bruce and Ray loved that little bonus. They left me plenty of room to unload the WC and then transfer Bruce and took us right up to the main cabin in the elevator. There is plenty of marked space for WC seating and even a family bathroom.

Colleen and Ray live in a beautiful part of the country. Waterviews from everywhere. They took us on a tour of the area, since our visit was relatively short. I needed to see how Bruce would fare. We visited a goat farm where they made their own cheese and a favorite vineyard of Colleen's. Then off to lunch right on the water. Wonderful seafood.

I will tell you Colleen is fearless. Pushed Bruce all over in his WC - 200+ lbs and all - grass, hills, gravel, dirt. Didn't matter, Bruce was going to see all the animals - LOL. And he loved it. Poor Ray got stuck with the lightweight, but we did OK and got to spend some quality time.

Ray was a bit disappointed that our visit was so short. And Bruce said on the return trip "when can we go back!" Ray promised me a great hamburger so that is certainly on the itinerary for the next trip. I have posted a few pix on FB and I promise I will try to figure out how to get some posted here. Just not a priority this week.

We went off to Foxwood for overnight. I did not want to face rush hour New Haven traffic, not knowing how all this would work out and the casino is only 1/2 hour away. It is amazing how a day like that affects Bruce. Yes, he was exhausted but so alert and with it. Chatting away which is very unusual. Connect them to the world and they will respond.

So we are home for a bit - LOL - loving this retirement! Today we started with the Garage clean out - last week of bulk pick up. Bruce was very confused even tho we had talked about this. But then I realized he has not been in the garage for five years. He "tooled" around for about 20 minutes and just didn't know what was going on. I redirected him and told him to just focus on the tool box and then he got to work for a good two hours. Tomorrow we start again!

The funny thing is the response from family and friends - like we had left the country for weeks! Mary Beth called Thursday afternoon, very annoyed I hadn't called her. I texted her when we left CT and again on our way back. Bruce's best friend called last night, why didn't I call when we got back. He was anxious to hear. And then this morning our close friends here. Part of me is thinking they might have thought I was going to toss Bruce overboard! LOL.

For me, it is just so relaxing to be with people who live like this every day. There are no expectations or surprises. Schlepps, WC, BR visits, finding ramps - all just part of the routine. One does not have to remind people that there has to be enough room parking to accomodate transfers into WCs or that BR visit means "right now". Hydration, moving chairs, all of that is the same for all of us. And just the company. Being able to chat and get to know people and not have to worry about wiping hands and faces, cutting up food and people thinking you are not paying attention.

Great time. Yes, we will be doing it again and spending longer time if Colleen and Ray can stand us - LOL.