I Couldn't Possibly Do It Without Frank

Sunday April 26, 1992

Bad night. Didn't sleep well thanks to aches and pains all over my body. I'm so out of shape it's pitiful. Just a bit more to do and we're ready for company. A last minutes trip to the market and our company, Bucky and Iny and Gene & Cathy arrive on time at 2 p.m. We spend the afternoon on the patio. The yard looks so beautiful! The ham dinner is ready at 6 p.m. and we have a lovely dinner and lovely time at our dining room table.

With Frank's help the day and the dinner turn out perfect. I couldn't possibly do it without him. I'm tired but happy when we settle down alone about 9 p.m.

Bucky is her cousin that she and Frank just visited a few weeks before in Florida and Iny is his wife. Mom's brother Gene and his wife Cathy from Pasadena came to visit them as well. I'm sure the weather was beautiful at the end of April and everything was blooming in their yard. They had a huge backyard that was beautifullly landscaped. It was the location of many parties, family reunions and even weddings.

Bob and Anita Arrive in Miami

Saturday April 4, 1992

We are up early and ready to leave Bucky and Iny's in Key Summerland, Florida at 8 a.m. We take some pictures of their house and we're on our way to Miami via the coast route. It's a beautiful drive past lovely big estate homes and towns.

After we check into the Omni Hotel we head for the airport where we pick up Bobbie and Anita McKee arriving from Los Angeles. They are tired and excited. Frank drives us all to the hotel, then he and Bobbie take the car back to the airport and catch a NCL bus back.

We have a Chinese dinner in the mall below our hotel. It's really good and plenty. We turn in about 10:30. I'm tired but feeling good. My left heel, outside, has developed since we left home a sharp pain. Feels like it's in the bone.

It sounds like Bob and Anita were smart enough not to take the red eye flight from Los Angeles, so had a good night's sleep before boarding their plane in Los Angeles.

When I hear Mom talking about taking pictures, it breaks my heart. Frank threw away thousand of photos that Mom took during their 20 years together when he remarried and moved from Simi Valley. I would have loved to see the photos of her cousin Bucky and his wife and also of their trip to Florida and the Caribbean. Sigh....

Ernest Hemingway's House

Friday April 3, 1992

Another wonderful night's rest. Awoke with my legs a little sore, especially my knees, probably from climbing in and out of the van yesterday. At 10 a.m. Bucky and Iny drive us to the Key deer reserve on Big Pine Key about 15 minutes from their home. We saw quite a few deer. They are very small, about the size of Daisy, our dog. We stopped at Blue Hole, a lagoon where there are alligators. We saw three alligators.

Frank and I drove to Key West where we toured Hemmingway's house. There were 51 cats laying around of all colors. We had lunch at Sloppy Joe's where Hemmingway used to hang out. We toured the hand-printed fabric factory and Mel Fisher Museum of treasures from sunken ships.

We returned for a great shrimp dinner at Bucky's. They had caught the shrimp in the gulf near here.

Wow, this is a busy day for them. Tiny deer, alligators, and cats! From the pictures I saw on-line of Hemingway's house it looks beautiful, but not sure I would like the idea of tip-toeing around 51 cats. Sounds like they have taken over the place!

Key West

Thursday April 2, 1992

Slept wonderfully well with the door closed, fan on low and a sheet and blanket over us. I did alot of sweating while getting ready but no more than at home. The day temp is 70 degrees and 60 at night. Very comfortable for me who cannot tolerate heat and humidity. By 10 a.m. we're all on our way to Key West In Bucky's Astro van. He and Iny do a wonderful job of showing us all of Key West. It's a wonderful place, alot like Hawaii.

We have a great dolphin sandwich with conch fritters and squid rings as appetizers. We saw Hemmingway's house and Tennessee Williams' home. For dinner we had Cuban food. The only thing familiar was the pork roast. Fried bananas (Petina), yellow rice, black beans, yucca (like potatoes) and Cuban tamales.

We walked on the beach, took a walk through a natural park, and finally arrived home at 10 p.m., feeling good. My cold is just a cough now. No more sore throat.

Sounds like Mom and Frank are not suffering from jet lag at all, and had a great day exploring Key West. For the first time in 20 years, Ric and I visited Hawaii last year and I had the worst jet lag after coming home, flying from west to east. The opposite direction was no problem, but losing 3 hours on the flight home seemed to make it worse when back in California. What a wonderful host Mom's cousin Bucky was, and what an adventure to explore the local cuisine!

The Florida Keys

Wednesday April 1, 1992

Landed in Miami 6:30 a.m. very tired. Slept very little sitting up on the plane. Four-hour flight, maybe slept one hour. We pick up our rental car and have breakfast at Denny's. The car has a broken tail light so we go back to get another car. The 3-hour drive south through the Florida Keys is very pleasant but I cannot stay awake. I sleep off and on all the way. About 10:30 Frank finally pulls off to nap a bit. We both sleep soundly. We arrive at Bucky and Inys after lunch at 1 p.m. Their home is lovely. They have a canal at the back of their home where their boat is docked. They have 3 bedrooms upstairs. We sleep downstairs in a bedroom with bath, TV, phone. Nice.

We have a fabulous lobster tail dinner, 7 of them--huge! They catch them near here. We go to bed early.

My cold is pretty good except sore throat.

Wow, only 4 hours from Los Angeles to Miami? That's a quick flight. As I suspected yesterday, Mom and Frank were not able to sleep on the plane. One thing she was always able to do though, was sleep in the car. I can remember so many times I would be in the back seat, and Mom was a passenger in the front seat with Frank driving. She would be talking away, when suddenly it would get quiet. I would look over the top of the seat and she was sleeping. Still, I am surprised that they were able to sleep soundly in the car (on the side of the road?) to take a nap. Otherwise, I'm sure they would not have been good company when they arrived at her cousin Bucky's. That lobster dinner sounds fabulous. It sounds like a beautiful place to live. That is one place I would like to visit before I die, but it would have to be in the winter. The furthest south I have been on the east coast was Virginia, and it was stifling hot there in July. Florida would be much worse with the humidity and heat.

We Cruise in 19 Days

Thursday March 12, 1992

We're up early. Frank leaves about 8:30 for his folks' house and his trip to Loma Linda to see Uncle Ricky.

I spend the morning cleaning our bathroom thoroughly. In the afternoon I begin to shorten dresses and pants I plan to take on the cruise in 19 days. We'll fly out March 31 at 10:30 p.m. I have chemo that morning. That should be no problem. I don't seem to feel any the worse after chemo. The main problem is we'll be lucky to get 2-3 hours of sleep on the plane. We'll arrive in Miami at 6:30 a.m., rent a car and head to the Keys where we'll stay with my cousin Bucky for 3 days, then return to Miami for the cruise.

I call Mom, Chris and Joan Larson. Joan has just found out she has cancer again somewhere in her body (CA125). She'll have a CAT tomorrow. I must include her in my prayers.

Joan Larson lived across the street from the Lemona house where I grew up for 20+ years. So sad that her cancer is back. Mom was a great source of encouragement to Joan, as they battled this deadly disease together.

Yikes, that doesn't sound like fun to leave Los Angeles Airport at 10:30 p.m. and arrive in Miami at 6:30 a.m. I hope Mom is able to sleep on the plane. I have never been able to sleep on a plane, and the few times I have taken long plane trips, especially from west to east, I end up being sick and terribly jet-lagged for a week. Too bad they couldn't have planned a morning flight. At least they would have arrived in Florida somewhat refreshed before visiting her cousin.