Los Angeles Jazz Festival

Saturday August 31, 1991

We're up early and off to the L.A.X. Jazz Festival of Dixieland music to celebrate Frank's birthday weekend. We arrive in time to attend the first performance at 10:30.

At 3 p.m. we meet Carol and Ray at the pool at the Marriott hotel. We are staying next door at the Hilton. Our room isn't ready til 4 p.m. When we finally get the key, someone is in that room. The clerk gives us a free breakfast chit for all our trouble. The room we finally get is large and lovely.

We have a great fried chicken dinner at the Marriott. We had breakfast out in Simi.

All the musical groups are great fun. We dance and hang out with Carol and Ray and go to bed about 10:30.

The annual Labor Day weekend Jazz Festival is still held at the Marriott Hotel near the Los Angeles Airport. It is called the Sweet & Hot Music Festival since 1996. Their website claims that it is considered to be the finest combination Jazz Party/Jazz Festival in the USA with over 50 of the best all-star artists performing the music of the 20s, 30s, 40s and 50s. Mom and Frank met Mom's friend Carol and her friend Ray at the festival. Carol and Mom were friends since kindergarten. They got together at jazz festivals in Sacramento, Los Angeles, and Monterey every year. Carol also loved square dancing as Mom and Frank did. In fact Frank is now married to mom's childhood friend Carol.

Feeling Good

Friday August 30, 1991

Feeling better these days. My knees hurt less and my back only hurts with certain movements. My arthritic thumbs hurt less.

I am very contented in general but that seems to be my nature, but even more so in my retirement.

I hope I don't appear smug about my cancer doing so well. It's just that I somehow knew or felt from the onset that it would turn out well. I swear God told me so back in April when I was diagnosed.

After lunch I go to Van Nuys to visit Aunt Elsie and Uncle Joe. They are old and frail and so happy to see me.

Frank cleans up at Lemona house after his day's work and we go out to dinner with Marty and Cathy Murphy. Echo (their daughter)is getting married in Vegas next weekend and they are very unhappy about that.

Mom's grandmother on her mother's side (Amanda Johnson) was one of the first residents of Van Nuys. She gave birth to the first set of twins born there in 1912. She had 14 children all together. The house in Van Nuys where she raised her family was now occupied by her daughter Elsie, who was 81 years old in 1991.

Sharing The Good News

Thursday August 28, 1991

Up early, feeling wonderful. So many people to call, to share the good news with. Last night I spoke to our moms, Chris (her daughter) and Donna (her best friend) and Gene (her brother) and Cathy (her sister-in-law). Everyone is overwhelmed by my good news. Praise the Lord!

The morning I spoke to Jan and Henry and John Buck at Guardian (the company she retired from a few years before). I really enjoyed that.

Making much headway at Lemona. We had the back yard trimmed and hauled, the bathtubs refinished, all walls painted or washed, fireplace painted, all the plumbing repaired. With watering the grass is growing again. Frank is tiling the kitchen counters, then kitchen and bath floors, then carpet will be laid.

What a wonder Frank is! He can do anything! And so sweet about it! I'm so lucky.

I meet Frank at Lemona with lunch as usual. I have time to share my good news with Joan and Hal. We stop to visit Gary and Maria on the way home.

You are lucky Mom. Not many men are so skilled at so many things. For Frank to work so cheerfully on the rental houses that Mom would leave to her children took a big heart. Thank you Frank!

Joan and Hal were our long-time neighbors across the street from the Lemona house where my brother and I grew up. Joan would be diagnosed with cancer the next year.

Perfectly Normal

Wednesday August 28, 1991

Today we heard the words we've been prayuing for. The results of my CAT scan on August 20--"PERFECTLY NORMAL". The cancer can no longer be seen on the CAT scan. Frank and I heard the news together--it was a message on the answering machine. We were not surprised, we were pleased. I said my prayer of thanks to God. Frank and I shared a hug to celebrate. I'm not sure I understand why God has chosen all of these last few months for me. I can only speculate. I like to think he wants me to be an example to others to show what prayer and positive thoughts can do. I have so many wonderful friends and family who were praying for me. This surely will speak to all of their hearts that God surely does answer prayer.

In some ways this whole ordeal seems like a bad dream. Did it really happen? Did I really have 2 cancerous tumors the size of oranges plus many small ones all over inside my body? I didn't see them. I didn't feel them. I haven't felt sick or pain since I came home from the hospital.

My life with cancer has been quite normal. I have felt wonderful. I've had plenty of energy and vitality. I've been very happy and very busy. The reality of it all is that these past four months have been nearly perfect. We had our 4 different weeks of vacation in May, June, July and August. We've been to Hawaii, North Carolina, Don Pedro Lake and an Alaskan cruise.

We had the pleasure of Justin with us for 2 weeks and Joey and Sara 2 days. We never stopped our social life including lots of square dancing. I just never felt sick except a couple of days due to chemotherapy. My chemo has gone extremely well. Every 28 days I spent 3-4 hours at the hospital, then out of sorts about 24 hours--no nausea after the second treatment (6 in all). No serious hair loss. I did lose some in the crown and above my ears.

I've been eating very well--too well, managing to gain 4-5 pounds from each vacation and not losing it. Today I weigh 20 pounds more than the day I came home from the hospital.

I will have one more (#6) chemo next week and then a hysterectomy 4 weeks later. I'll be in great shape for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

We (mostly Frank) have been very busy restoring the Lemona house. Gledhill house is rented now. We should have Lemona ready to show about September 15, and hopefully rented before my surgery October 4 or so.

Click, click, click as everything continues to fall into place.

Just as I said on my last post, Mom says the same thing here, that her life has been quite normal and happy, taking 4 vacations in 4 months, with plenty of energy. Finding out that the CAT scan was perfectly normal must have been very exciting, but it's hard for me to feel excited as I post this, knowing that she will be gone in less than 2 years. One thing that did surprise me about this entry in her journal is that there was an 11-day gap between her last entry in Journal #1 and her first entry in Journal #2. I always thought she never missed a day. Makes me wonder what happened in those 11 days. Perhaps not much to write about, I suppose.

Last Entry in Journal #1 (5 more to go)

Saturday August 17, 1991

No walk again today. Spent the day at Gledhill and Lemona showing and cleaning. Hurried home at 5 p.m. to make chicken drumettes for square dance tonight. Our Boots & Slippers anniversary (32nd) dance. Danced pretty well. Then went out to IHOP for dessert with the group of 10.

Bed at 12:30 a.m.

This is Mom's last entry in Journal #1 (out of 6). Journal #1 began on April 11 and takes us through August 17, 1991. Reading her journal has brought back many good memories. I am struck by how much Mom wants to keep her life as normal as possible. She wants to spend time with her children and her grandchildren, but this is how she always was, even before her cancer diagnosis. She wants to enjoy her friends and her life like it is a great adventure. Look at the last sentence, bed at 12:30! I haven't stayed up past midnight for years! Mom wanted to enjoy every minute with friends before falling into bed exhausted. It makes me wonder though if her exhaustion kept her immune system as strong as it could have been.

Back Pain

Friday August 16, 1991

Frank's up early and off to leave the key for the gas man at Lemona and then on to Gledhill to work on the dishwasher some more. Several people stop to see the house.

I clean the linens from Sara and Joey and remake the room before I leave for errands, shopping and Gledhill. I pick up lunch for us and then go pick up parts for Frank. At Lemona I take down the drapes--filthy!

I worry--so much to do and I want to help, but just a little bending or strain puts my back in such pain, I'm afraid. But Frank can't do it alone!

After dinner we go to see Layne and Phil's new house in Moorpark. It's very nice!

I can relate to the back pain, Mom. I herniated my disk between the L4-L5 vertebrae in 2008 and had surgery in September of that year to trim the disk. The surgery helped, but the pain is always there, and doing any bending or lifting definitely aggravates it. Other than headache, it is the most common type of pain in the United States. It affects 80% of Americans at some time in their lives. Mom also suffered from knee pain and shoulder pain at different times of her life. None of this is related to the cancer.

It's a good thing Frank retired from the City of Los Angeles Parks Department when Mom was diagnosed with cancer. Working on rentals can be a full time job, especially when more than one is empty at a time. At this time, Mom and Frank are working on two vacancies. In 2010 we had six vacancies.

Bob's Big Boy Restaurant

Thursday August 15, 1991

We all sleep in a bit. After breakfast we drive to Kaiser for my appointment with Dr. Bienstock. He is pleased with my progress and will schedule my surgery for early October. That means I'll be in find shape for Thanksgiving and Christmas Holidays.

After lunch at Bob's (Big Boy) we take the children home to Palmdale. We have a nice visit with Deb, then go to see Paul, Judy and Taylor. Taylor is growing so fast and is quite animated now. She coos and blows bubbles. Paul is still enthralled. Judy is still not relaxed with her.

When Mom found out she had ovarian cancer, she agreed to participate in a study to compare chemo first followed by surgery, or surgery first followed by chemo, to see which method of treatment had better success. By draw it was decided she would have chemo first. By October she would have had 6 months of chemo treatments and then would have her ovaries and uterus removed.

From the time my brother and I were little, our big treat on Saturday night was to go to Bob's Big Boy drive-in, where my parents ordered the classic Big Boy hamburger and my brother and I ordered grilled cheese sandwiches with fries. We all had cherry cokes. When my brother and I were older we actually got to go inside the restaurant. Each of us was given a Big Boy comic book where we solved puzzles and read comics of the adventures of Big Boy while waiting for our food. Bob's Big Boy Restaurant was established in 1936. The Burbank restaurant built in 1949 is the oldest remaining Bob's Big Boy Restaurant and was designated a California Point of Historical Interest in 1993. It has a table where The Beatles dined and sat while on tour in California during 1965. Movie stars like Bob Hope, Mickey Rooney, and Debbie Reynolds were regulars there in the 1950s.

Universal Studios

Wednesday August 14, 1991

Up early to feed Joey and Sara and get them ready. We leave for Universal Studios at 9 a.m. It's misting and cool. It will be a great day, not too hot.

We have done a great job explaining to Sara about pretending. She is not at all frightened by King Kong and Jaws and the earthquake. She loves the E.T. ride and holds her Papa Frank's hand all day. He likes that.

We have a really great day seeing all the shows and really love being with Joey and Sara. They are great fun! We finally leave there quite tired at 8 p.m. I'm no more tired than the rest. We manage to all stay awake coming home and eat more spaghetti before bed.

Universal Studios is a theme park in Universal City in the San Fernando Valley of California. Each of the rides and shows is based on a Universal Studios movie. How nice that Mom and Frank spend the day with their grandkids doing something fun for them. I find it hard to believe that Mom didn't fall asleep in the car on the way home. For as far back as I can remember, she fell asleep in the passenger seat within 10 minutes of Frank starting the ignition, even when she was the one doing the talking, it would suddenly get quiet, and sure enough she was sound asleep practically mid-sentence.

Joey and Sara

Tuesday August 13, 1991

After a great walk Frank heads for the Gledhill House and I prepare the house for company tonight. Debbie and Phil are bringing Joey and Sara over to stay. I make spaghetti sauce. I go to Gledhill to show the house to Klaus and Laura. I like them for the house and they want it badly. We'll see.

We all meet back home about 5:00. We meet Walka, Deb and Phil's Japanese exchange student. She speaks some English. We have a nice dinner of salad, lasagna, spaghetti and ice cream. They stay til 10 p.m. Phil plays pool with Walka.

Phil is Frank's oldest son. His son Joey is just a year older than my son Justin. Phil, Debbie and Joey are pictured above at Dolores' wedding in 1986. Joey is 6 here. Sara was born soon after. I knew mom had Justin down to visit for 2 weeks every summer, but I didn't know that Frank's grandchildren came to stay with them as well. They lived in Palmdale which is less than an hour's drive away.

Another Vacancy

Monday August 12, 1991

We're awake at 7:20. We're naughty and have chocolate muffins for breakfast. We compensate by taking the dogs on a 70 minute walk, taking a new route, which pleases Frank. He likes seeing something new. We enjoy the walk and it feels good physically to both of us.

After lunch and laundry we head for the valley to check out Lemona house. It is worse than we expected and needs much cleaning and repair. It will not be ready to show this weekend after all. Change the ad.

We finish repairs at Gledhill, meet the dishwasher repairman and a possible tenant.

After dinner we head for North Hollywood to square dance with our friends. We go out to Baker's Square afterwards. We surprise ourselves and do pretty well at dancing after so long not dancing.

It was alot of work managing four rental houses, and you don't get sick time from being a landlord. There are still repairs to do, tenants to deal with, rent to collect, vacancies to take care of. After mom passed away, my brother Gary and I inherited 3 of the rental houses and sold them shortly thereafter. It takes someone with lots of time, patience and a variety of handyman skills to be a landlord. Even though we manage 15 rental houses in Sonoma County, it was just too difficult to manage these from 400 miles away and my brother was not interested in becoming a landlord.

I'm glad to see Mom and Frank went out walking. Hiking the regional parks where we live in Windsor is one of my favorite pasttimes. There is nothing as invigorating as enjoying God's creation and breathing fresh air.

Prime Rib Dinner

Sunday August 11, 1991

We sleep in again until 8:00. Once up we're off for our 45 minute walk. Frank leave to show Gledhill house and do repairs. I clean and shop and cook to get ready for Gary and Maria and boys all coming for dinner.

I feel good today. I cook a prime rib dinner we all enjoy outside. Maria is quiet today. At dinner she finally talks about the problem of the boys baseball taking up all their weekends, and Gary resents it as there are other things he's like to do like go camping or just away. This is a major problem as the boys will probably play baseball all their young lives as they are really good at it.

I never knew my brother resented their boys playing baseball every weekend. Somehow he must have come to terms with it because Junior and Joe did indeed play baseball every season for all their young lives. Later on Junior took up basketball as well. Their weekends were spent shuttling the boys from game to game as well as baseball practice sessions on weekdays. One of their twin boys Austin is now 14 and he plays baseball every weekend as well. My boys were never interested in team sports, unless you call airsofting a sport. Derek does like to go airsofting every weekend with his friends. This is a game where everyone dresses in camouflage gear and protective goggles, break into teams, and shoot at each other with plastic beebees.

The Ambergrove Court House

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Saturday August 10, 1991

We take our walk before Frank heads for the valley. He also helps the neighbors fix some sprinklers. We are getting lots of calls on the house for rent. We spend the evening at home, too tired to go square dancing tonight.

I can relate! Ric and I manage 9 rental houses of our own plus 6 more for my mother-in-law. There is always something to repair or replace, and a couple times every year there is a turnover. Running ads, showing the house to prospective tenants, taking applications, phone calls, preparing lease agreements....We did that 6 times in 2010, a record number of turnovers, with a record number of rental expenses as well!

Home is their beautiful spacious 2-story place in Simi Valley. The link above shows a current photo. It looks like the current owner has added a swimming pool in the backyard. Frank stayed in the house for several years after Mom passed, but now he lives in a retirement community with his new wife Carol in Lincoln, California. Keeping up the yard at the Simi Valley house was a full-time job!

Doc Hollywood

Friday August 9, 1991

We have a great walk. Frank heads for the valley to work at Gledhill. We decide on an early dinner at Tony Toma's, then come home to call Layne and Phil. They are going to the movies and want us to go along.

We enjoy "Doc Hollywood" with Michael J. Fox. I do better than usual sitting through the movies without too much pain and discomfort in my hips and legs. Frank and I do pie at Marie Callendars after the movie.

It's been a very long time but I think I saw that movie in which Michael J. Fox plays a young doctor who causes an accident in a small town and is sentenced to work at the town hospital. He was only 30 years old in 1991, the same year that he was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. However, he did not disclose his condition to the public until 1998 and is now an activist for research for finding a cure. I can relate to what Mom says about sitting in a theater for two hours or more. Besides that a movie ticket costs $10 today, sitting that long does get uncomfortable for my back. I would rather wait a few months for the movie to come out on DVD and be able to watch it leisurely from my bed.

The Gledhill House

Thursday August 8, 1991

Woke up at 8:00 and off for a walk with the dogs. The walk feels good. I have plenty of energy and legs hold up well. My back has stopped aching. It bothered me alot Monday and some Tuesday. Actually I feel very well physically. My aching joints are alot better and so are my knees. I've lost 2 of the 5 pounds I gained last week on the cruise.

We work at the Gledhill house most of the day. It is ready to show when we leave. The ad comes out tomorrow--For Rent $1095/month.

We're too tired to go square dancing again tonight. We get another movie to watch. First we watch our Alaska video. It's pretty good.

Wow, Mom, that's not bad to only gain 5 pounds after eating 2 desserts after dinner every night and 1-2 after lunch. And good for you for getting out there walking right after your chemo. Glad you are feeling up to it.

As I mentioned on the previous post, the Gledhill house is the house mom lived in after I moved to Santa Rosa in 1974 and before she and Frank got married in 1982. Here is a link to Google maps. This house was a little larger than the Lemona house (3 bedroom, 2 bath, 1700 square feet compared to 1300 square feet at Lemona). It was a ranch style home built in 1959. When she and Frank bought their house together in Simi Valley in 1982 it must have seemed like a mansion. It was 2645 square feet on a 13,000+ square foot lot.


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The Lemona House

Wednesday August 7, 1991

I feel listless all day. No energy. About 5 p.m. I start to feel more normal, but am ready for bed at 11 when we finish watching a movie.

I have my nails done and do my marketing in spite of the lack of energy.

Frank spends most of the day working on a leak at the Lemona house and checking out Gledhill house which is empty now.

Mom does not allow herself any "down time". Even the day after chemo, she is running errands.

The Lemona house in Mission Hills is the house I grew up in from 1954 until 1974. It seemed like a mansion to me and the yard seemed huge. The house was a 4 bedroom, 2 bath house, but only 1300 square feet. The lot was 8680 square feet. I compared this on Zillow.com to the house I live in now, which is also 4 bedrooms, 2-1/2 baths, but 2855 square feet with a lot size of 10,000 square feet. That makes this lot a bit larger, but the house more than twice the size! Our standard of living certainly has increased since the 1950s. Also, according to Zillow, that same house on Lemona is now a 6 bedroom, 3 bath home of 2498 square feet. Some owner in the past few decades almost doubled the square footage!

When I moved to Santa Rosa, California, in 1974 Mom lived in the Lemona house for a few more years after I left and then bought the house on Gledhill in North Hills, California. The Lemona house became a rental at that time. When she and Frank married in 1982, the Gledhill house became a rental as well. My brother and I inherited both of these houses as well as one more rental she owned, when she passed away.


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Chemo #5

Tuesday August 6, 1991

Off to Kaiser about 10:30 a.m. for chemo at 11:30. I was supposed to have a cat scan at 8:30 but we forgot to go pick up the contrast media yesterday so will have to reschedule. It will be August 20. I bring media home with me today. Chemo goes OK. They still have trouble finding a vein in my hand to put the IV into. The tranquilizer makes me so drowzy I hardly remember anything this day. I can't stay awake at all at home. We have a big lunch out so dinner is some cheese and crackers before bed.

I sleep very well all night but I do take the nausea medicine all night and tomorrow.

OK, so I thought contrast media was a strange term, so I looked it up on Wikipedia, which states that "contrast MEDIUM is a substance used to enhance the contrast of structures or fluids within the body in medical imaging. It is commonly used to enhance the visibility of blood vessels and the gastrointestinal tract." Barium sulfate is the most common type of oral contrast agent.

The most common tranquilizer used with chemotherapy is Lorazepam. It prevents nausea, the most common side effect of the chemo.

Pitch Woo?

Monday August 5, 1991

Slept in until 8 a.m. and lazed til 9 in bed. Up and at um! Lots of unpacking, house cleaning, washing, etc to be done.

All done, we're too tired to go square dancing. Instead we take a lovely bath and pitch woo--it was a long lonesome week in twin beds--SMALL twin beds--on the ship.

Big news! Steve calls to say Dolores is pregnant and her due date is March 17, 1992. Oh joy!! They'll make good parents, I think. I hope Steve is truly ready for the Big Change in their lives.

I am cracking up! I have never heard the expression Pitch Woo! I had to look it up on Wiktionary, and sure enough, it means making love. I sat on the edge of that huge soaking tub in their master bathroom every time I visited Mom while she meticulously applied her makeup and fixed her hair.

Yikes, small twin beds on a romantic cruise! Even more reason to avoid a cruise. Could they have requested a queen size or even king size bed? No wonder Mom was so tired trying to balance on a narrow bed.

Dolores is Frank's daughter, his youngest child. She and Steve are pictured above along with (from the left) Frank's youngest son Paul, Mom and Frank, Frank's oldest son Philip and his wife Debbie, Frank's parents Florence and John Reina. Dolores is an elementary school teacher in San Diego, and her husband Steve is an architect. Their child will be born 4 months before my son Derek.

Good To Be Home

Sunday August 4, 1991

Slept a little better thanks to a Unisom for sleep. Got up at 4:30 for a 7 a.m. breakfast in dining room. Then a long wait for our call to go through customs and leave the ship and get on our bus.

We arrive at the airport but one of our bags is missing. We send McKees ahead. Our bag is found downstairs at the curb. We line up to check in. Big mix-up! We're checked onto 10:30 a.m. plane but McKees are on 11:30 a.m. plane. We're able to get ours changed to 11:30 also. The plane ride 2-1/2 hours goes very fast. We're back in L.A. in no time.

The Flyaway bus delivers us to Van Nuys about 4:30. We're home about 5:10. McKees leave quickly for Palmdale to pick up something and then head home. Good to be home! We're tired!

No kidding, mom, I'm exhausted just hearing about your day. Getting thousand of passengers through customs all at once sounds grueling, and then dealing with changing flights, lost luggage, making bus connections, all very stressful stuff. I'm having second thoughts about taking a cruise. Anyone been on a cruise out there? Is it worth all the aggravation?

Last Day at Sea

Saturday August 3, 1991

Didn't sleep well at all last night. Arose at 7:00 for 7:30 dining room breakfast followed by an exercise class. Then I came back to the room and rested for an hour, then got cleaned up.

Today was a talent contest and Big Bingo plus other activities. We each got a T-shirt and visor for active activities. Anita and Bob won bronze medals for a marathon.

Dinner was prime rib and two more wonderful desserts each. The farewell show was really wonderful. The song with gestures as they all stood shoulder to shoulder singing different words about what they'd be doing if not working on a cruise ship.

The general feeling that mom's posts evoke while on her cruise to Alaska is exhaustion. I don't know if it's because of the seasickness medication, lack of sleep, or the cancer, but this vacation sounds anything but restful. Is mom burning the candle from both ends, as the saying goes? Her body needs lots of rest to keep her immune system strong. It seems more like her attitude is to not let the cancer interfere with her life whatsoever, and to live every day like it's her last. She certainly does love adventure, and the cost of all the excursions she went on had to be expensive. Maybe she knew it would be her last opportunity to see Alaska and she was going to take advantage of every opportunity to see and do as much as she could.

Ketchikan, AK

Friday August 2, 1991

Woke up in Ketchikan, Alaska. At 9:30 we took a bus ride around town to the fish hatchery (salmon) and Totem Pole Park.

Then we did the last of our shopping in Alaska. Lunch on the ship was buffet. We pulled out of Ketchikan at 2:30 p.m. heading back to Vancouver. I feel more rested today. Slept well last night for 8 hours.

Our ship went into the "Misty Fjords". It was beautiful. It had stopped raining by then.

Dinner was lovely with filet minon steak. We have had every imaginable dessert this week. I have had 2 with every dinner and one or two at lunch and sweet rolls at breakfast. We only made it to one midnight buffet and we ate very little.

I've never been on a cruise but I know they have a reputation for wonderful food, including desserts. What I do know about the ports, having been to Alaska on the ferry 3 times, is that next to the docks where the cruise ships come in is row after row of funky souvenoir shops selling T-shirts, key chains, and other corny items, most of which are overpriced. We would avoid the areas around the docks for the same reason we left Skagway when the cruise ships arrived: there were crowds of people everywhere. In the evening after the ships left, it was nice and peaceful, and since the sun doesn't set until midnight in the summer, we still had lots of daylight to explore the town and surrounding area. Rather than spending one day in each port, we stayed for 4-5. Although we loved the history of Skagway, mostly we were amazed by the beauty of Alaska. If we do take a cruise to Alaska someday, it will be in order to see Glacier Bay.

Juneau, AK

Thursday August 1, 1991

Woke up in Juneau, Alaska at 7:00 for breakfast delight d to our room. I'm sick and tired. Last night we stayed up for midnight buffet. I had 2 desserts and went to bed at 1 a.m. I am so tired. We took a bus out to the woods where we enjoyed a salmon bake in the rain under a plastic tarp next to a stream where some panned for gold. The salmon and halibut were really good. We had lobster and baked Alaska for dessert, also flaming peach melba.

I tried to play Bingo at 4 p.m. but couldn't stay awake so went to the cabin for a nap. I felt much better after than. I'm doing well except I'm extremely tired most of the time. No seasickness thanks to Bonine medicine. My right knee is hurting alot. I've had no chest pain or eye problem (blurring) on this trip. We have danced some every night--that's lovely.

It is very clear to me reading Mom's entry that the reasons for her fatigue are staying up until 1 a.m. and getting up at 7, and the Bonine, also known as Meclizine she is taking to prevent seasickness. The most common side effect of this medication is drowsiness and fatigue. She had problems with her knees for years, and I remember her having orthoscopic surgery on one knee years earlier.

Juneau has been the capital of Alaska since 1906 when it was moved from Sitka. It has a population of 30,000 and is accessible only by sea or air.