October 27, 2025 - Up and at ‘em bright and early today. On the road by 6:30am heading South, destination Fredericksburg, VA. Eddi, our friend from North Ranch, lost her husband, Cowboy Bob, one year ago and moved into a lovely apartment that her daughter, Judi, and her husband created in their basement/playroom. The transformation is really impressive with a cute 1/2 dishwasher, wine cooler under the counter as her daily fridge, creative storage spaces in the kitchen and more. Sliding doors to a patio with lawn furniture and a fire pit allow her a private entrance. Her bedroom has a small electric fireplace, her bed draped with a gorgeous quilt, a walk-in closet, a recliner and a reupholstered Victorian chair that was her grandmothers. Bob’s picture is framed right next to her chair. The room is lovingly decorated with mementos she brought from AZ. Cute little stuffed animals are peaking out at you throughout the room - very cute and cozy. We had lunch at a Mediterranean Restaurant - delicious lamb kabobs.
Earlier in the day, Rich and I took a drive to the Fredericksburg Visitor Center in hopes of seeing a film describing the battles of the area. It was closed due to the Government Shutdown, so we did a self-guided tour.
With all of the territory that we cover, we seldom stop to sightsee. On this trip, we wanted to stop and smell the roses along the way. Glad we did; these were not fragrant roses, but thorny recorded evidence of incredible suffering and hardship. Try to imagine looking out over four battlefields within a 17 mile radius of the bloodiest encounters 160 years after the fact. Tall trees interrupt the view, housing developments have sprung up along the 2 lane roads that meander through this hallowed ground. And we keep reminding ourselves that these brave men were on foot - quite a contrast as we toured the area in the comfort of our car.
Battle of Fredericksburg (December 11 - 13, 1862) - This is the entrance to the Fredericksburg National Cemetary where 15,000 Union soldiers are buried, 12,000 of them unknown! In all, 30,000 soldiers were killed, wounded or missing in the two-day December 1862 battle where the Union army was defeated and humiliated.
We walked along renowned Sunken Road, the site where Union soldiers attempted 7 waves to advance across the open fairgrounds to overtake the Confederates. They could not get closer than 50 yards hindered by a stonewall. For eight hours these open fields became a killing ground. The opposing soldiers held the high ground with their well defended line.
Rich is standing next to the Innis house which was ravaged by bullets as it sat in the vortex of the fighting.
Chancellorsville (April 27 - May 6, 1863) - Robert E. Lee won his greatest victory, but lost his legendary subordinate, Stonewall Jackson, who was accidentally shot by his own troops.
The Wilderness (May 5-6, 1864) - On no American battlefield did the landscape do more to intensify the horror of the combat. For two days the Armies grappled in the dense thickets and tangled undergrowth of the Wilderness. The fighting ended in a ghastly fiery stalemate. Almost 30,000 Union and Confederate soldiers were killed, wounded, others missing in the two day battle. Grant decided to push on to Spotsylvania with a roar of approval from his weary solders.
Spotsylvania Court House (May 8-21, 1864) - For 22 hours the two sides locked in the war’s most intense hand-to-hand close combat. The fighting here was considered the most desperate in the entire war.
We are glad we made this tour - it is unimaginable how these soldiers did what they did. Seeing the terrain is something we will never forget. Tears
October 28, 2025 - We set the alarm and were on the road by 4:30am. The plan was to see how we felt when we got to Savanah. We felt fine and pushed on to the condo arriving at 6:30pm - basically a 14 hour day with bio-breaks every 3 hours or so. The traffic was amazingly truck light! We saw so many pulled off to sleep in the early morning hours. Maybe they slept in or took westerly routes because it was a great traffic day on I-95 South. Rich drove the lion’s share, with me giving him a break here and there.
Couldn’t wait to crash after lugging the bare essentials up the stairs. You’d be amazed at how many “bare essentials” there are!
October 29-30, 2025 - Lugging more stuff up and unpacking is pretty exhausting, but we are settling in. Took a break to have lunch at Acapulco Restaurant.
October 31, 2025 - Stocking up on provisions today from Costco, Publix and the Ellington Mall. Physically and financially spent after that ordeal, so we took a nap and then sat out on the lanai watching Alley the alligator, movements of big turtles and water birds, with our Margaritas in hand. The golf tee across the pond offers a fair amount of entertainment as well.
November 1, 2025 - I think we have finally recovered from the trip down.. 11/1 is the first day of the rest of my life, so continuing my walking regiment down here and WW again. Adding 3 days of water aerobics and 1 day of line dancing to my calendar.
November 2, 2025 - Struggled long and hard to get my printer up and running. Apple Care said that HP discontinued support for this model, so off to Costco we went to get a mid-level one on sale. It took a while, but it is set up and good to go.
November 3, 2025 - We went for our first visit to the Sun Coast Sand Flees Ukulele group on Nokomis Beach. A glorious day, but for dealing with the traffic - it took us about 30 minutes to get there. The ocean water was a deep blue green. About 50 of us gathered to play and sing. I met Steffi in Gt. Barrington, MA while playing with the BUB group. She told me about this group and I have been following them on Facebook. It was crazy to see my picture with Steffi on the cover of the post someone shared. We also learned of a group at Lakewood Ranch which is right next door to us, so may have to give them a go.
November 4, 2025 - Took an early run to Publix to stock up on pantry items and go to UPS store. We were out of there by 8:15 and discovered that we don’t have to get on SR64 for most of the things we need - Walmart, Aldis, Costco, Target, car wash, Diary Queen 😋 and other stores that are still being built.
November 5, 2025 - Went to my first water aerobics class this morning. It was indeed a workout, therefore, I don’t think I need to walk today. According to my Weight Watcher App, I earned 3 points for 55 minutes of water aerobics. It was also very fun with 50’s/60’s music accompaniment. We’ll see how I feel tomorrow…
My youngest grandson (13 yo) wrote the most touching essay for school about my husband, his BopBop. A flood of tears sprang from my eyes as I read his memory of him. He really described him well, even though he was only 5 when he passed.
November 6, 2025 - After my walk this morning, I went solo to another ukulele group. Rich stayed behind awaiting a delivery. This group is Aloha Ukulele Lakewood Ranch - 15 minutes down the road from the condo. So much easier than going to Nokomis Beach 30 minutes away. Two very different groups: Nokomis is mostly old folks like us, full of vim and vigor, gregarious, welcoming… They use multiple big music books which you buy on Amazon, clips to hold the music down when the wind blows, music stands, BYO chairs and have a very energetic young lady (71 yo) as their leader.
Today’s group is younger and uses digital music with a big screen for all to see, paper copies for those who can’t let go of paper, no music stands needed, cushioned chairs in an air conditioned room, a view of a small pond, and a mellow leader with a very dry sense of humor. They are practicing for 10 Christmas concerts, so they were a little more serious. I can practice with them even if I don’t perform in any or all of them. Anyway, I really enjoyed both of them, but Lakewood Ranch is more convenient in many ways. We will still go to Nokomis from time to time.
Social Burger Night at the golf clubhouse down the road with the Water Aerobic folks. Rich got to meet more people and share stories!
