Annual Gratuitous Spring Beauty Post

I love May.  It is such a gorgeous month around here, as long as the weather cooperates, anyway.  In the midst of another rough patch health-wise, I suppose I've been clinging to the joy the spring brings even more than usual.  I loved getting a bonus dose of spring when we were in Atlantic City, and pretty quickly things escalated once we got home as well.  But with cooler than usual weather and some rain, it's been challenging to really enjoy it.  I've done a good job getting out for walks this month because of my work competition, though, so that has helped.  It just seems so miraculous to see green and flowers everywhere after a long winter.  I suppose that happens every year, but as I alluded to in a previous post, this year it just caught me a bit off-guard, maybe because everything was late and it went from cold to blooming super fast.  I must have lost hope or something...or maybe I've just been too distracted by other things.

May 1st was my long day at work, and it was actually a really pleasant day outside, one of the first truly warm days we'd had.  I had to spend most of it indoors, but I decided in the late afternoon that I needed to go for a quick walk before the rain came in around dinner time.  I had to get in my steps and I just wanted to feel the warm weather for a change.  I did two laps around the building, and it was so much prettier than I expected.  The campus is an arboretum, so they do take good care of things, but I didn't expect to see all I did in that quick walk.  I did have to very carefully walk past what I believe was a nesting goose.  She was keeping a very close eye on me, but to her credit, she did not hiss.

This was outside the building on the end that used to be a convent for the nuns that taught at the Catholic girls' high school that was once in the building.  This part is our board room now, but I suspect it was once a chapel.  After looking at this picture, I realized that could have been a stained glass window once, but upon further investigation, it looks like the 2007 stone below the shield originally held a pedestal with a statue.  I love that this building has some history.  The high school touches are very evident in the back hallways and stairways.

Around the back of the building are woods (I've posted fall foliage pictures of that area before), and I noticed a bunch of daffodils cropping up along the edges.  I was surprised to find a couple different varieties that I've maybe never seen before.

I love frilly flowers and those just made my day.  I also stopped by the pigeon coop and marveled at the shiny rainbow feathers on one of them.  I wish my camera did it justice.  That walk was so refreshing, even though I came back to a bit of a tense moment as our big boss was getting nervous about our results.  But it was much needed to get out and enjoy the weather for a few minutes.

My walks have been rather pleasant since everything started blooming, especially if it's warm.  I loved this view of a tree around the corner.  Those pink ones were so gorgeous this year.

Thursday ended up being a bit crazier of a day than I expected.  I got a call as I left work on Wednesday that Carter had been scheduled for an MRI the next morning.  I guess I knew that the GI doctor wanted some imaging done, but after we had talked previously, it sort of seemed like we'd just do the repeat blood work and stool testing the following week and take it from there to see if imaging might be needed ahead of his appointment a couple weeks later.  But nope, apparently we needed to do this.  

We went in around 8:30 the next morning and he had to drink two bottles of this stuff for the contrast part of the imaging.  At first he thought it tasted good.  It was lemon-lime flavored.  But after two good-sized bottles I think it was starting to get to him, and he said it started to taste sour.  It doesn't give me much hope for his colonoscopy, but he was a trooper drinking it down in the necessary amount of time, with an IV already in his hand.

The procedure was pretty quick, but he did end up getting sick when they did the dye through the IV, which apparently happens.  It was small and contained, and he was in good spirits, but I felt bad.  He said his arms also hurt from how he had to lay.  We picked him up a good breakfast on the way home, and then I consented to letting him miss the rest of the school day, even though it was still pretty early.  I wasn't sure if food would hit wrong after that incident, so I just let it go and let him stay home.  Good thing I did, because he did have some lower half issues again that day.  That was the one not-good day since he stopped the probiotic, and I swear it lends credence to my theory of him having SIBO, if only because he had to drink two of those drinks and the amount of (artificial) sugars in them could probably rile up the bacteria pretty good--much like what I swear happened to me post-Mountain Dew during the liquid diet part of my colonoscopy prep day.  I'd had a completely uneventful GI day with only bland, simple things that morning, and then out of the blue I had a rough bathroom trip even before the prep began, and I can only think either the juice or the pop set it off.  

I had to go into work after that to take care of a few things, and you can bet when the test result showed up in MyChart I turned into a jittery mess.  Every new test result that had come in since his blood work and stool testing weren't great sent my heart rate sky high.  Fortunately, this one looked good from what I could tell.  Everything listed in the result looked to be normal, although I'm not always clear on whether there are other things they might not report on in that manner.  But I haven't gotten a call since, so I have to think that it was fine.  We did repeat the blood and stool tests today, and given that he's only had that one iffy day in the last 10 days or so, I was originally hoping things would look better.  The inflammation HAS to be down without constant diarrhea, right?  But then he showed me the aftermath of a poop last night and at least the toilet paper was pretty bloody, so now I'm probably even more nervous that we'll have an ER visit in our future when the blood work comes back.  But the one we took in for testing today seemed fine, so I'm not sure what triggers the bad ones.  I still think it's odd we both improved along the same timeframe and can't help but wonder if it really was a bug that just hung in there, and his may have started an additional autoimmune response.  Oddly, today I was back off but I suppose it could have been nerves about the next round of testing.  Oh, and interestingly, I was fully expecting my hemoglobin to be borderline when I gave blood last week since I'm probably still not absorbing well, but it was actually way higher than usual--although they have a new technique of testing it now and now I'm really not convinced it's accurate.  Anyway...back to Thursday...

I was relieved by Carter's MRI results that day, but this whole thing has been weighing heavily for a few weeks now.  Thursday's weather was also damp and cold and rainy, which didn't help my mood.  Thankfully, by the time I got out of work, it was clearing up a bit.  Still cool, but peeks of sun.  I was still not thrilled at the thought of a cold walk that night, but knew I could use the steps and the stress relief.  We finished dinner at a reasonable time that night, and I realized it was my last chance to go to Highland Park before the Lilac Festival started the next day, which would make it chaotic and inconvenient to visit for the next 10 days.  I had been meaning to go but never found a good time.  I knew a lot of things I normally see would be spent, but from pictures I had seen I knew some other things might be blooming--namely most of the lilacs, which I'm usually too early for when I go for the tulips and magnolias.  I figured it was nice enough with the peeks of sun to get through an hour of brisk walking and it would make that night's walk much more enjoyable.  I got there around 7:30, which only gave me a little over a half hour before sunset and maybe a little more before it was too dark to stay.  

I fortunately found my usual parking spot wide open.  First stop was the pansy bed, which is always such a lovely display of color!

The lilacs really were starting to do their thing.  There was purple everywhere!

I had seen a few pictures posted last week of bluebells--apparently there's a gorgeous spot near Geneseo that has them (mental note for next year)--but I was thrilled to see a few along the path, since I don't know that I've ever seen them in person before.

This was a different one than I've ever seen as well.  Guess it pays to go at different times!

This white rhododendron was so stunning.  The flower was giant!  I always shake my head a little when I walk through the azalea and rhododendron section because theirs are always blooming so early and mine take an extra week or more.  I apparently just have really late varieties at my house, or maybe being that much further north and closer to the lake makes us cooler?  Not that I'm complaining--I like stretching the season out!  The more flowers the better!

These trees were so gorgeous.  The color was even more vibrant than it appears here, and they were all over the place.  But this grouping was eye-catching!

I love the azalea/rhododendron area so much, and I hit it pretty perfectly this time.

I had noticed some white violets on my walk the other day but felt weird about taking a picture, so this was a better opportunity.

These trees almost look pretend.  Maybe because I feel like Lego has a version of these blossoms (or something similar) and my brain sees those because these are just too perfect to be nature sometimes!

I was walking through the magnolias (which were mostly on their way out) and from a distance I saw these flowers, which I don't think I've ever seen.  They were so pretty!  I inadvertently walked through some mud to get this picture, but it was worth it!

As I was walking, the sun was beginning to set and it started to cast the most magical golden glow on everything.  This pine tree looked almost unreal.  I wasn't the only one trying to take a picture.

The glow through this giant, dramatic tree was amazing.  The photo barely does it justice, but if you look close at the way the leaves are glowing, it might come close.

The tulips were pretty spent, sadly, but I tried to capture what I could.  I couldn't tell if the spots on a lot of them were part of the varieties they had this year, or if it was damage from cold or pests.  

This one was up by the Lamberton Conservatory entrance and was the closest thing to a non-spent, somewhat frilly one that they had.

As I continued my walk, the sky got more interesting.  When I got to the top of the hill by the reservoir, it looked like this.  It was so golden behind the trees.

This framing of it with a dogwood above and flowers below was so pretty.

As I walked back up and around, I realized the view in the distance was super orange from the golden sunset, whereas the foreground was already shaded.  This almost captures it.  

Even cooler, the top of this church at the former divinity school across the street looked fake, almost like something was being projected on it.  It was SO bright that it literally caught my eye through the trees and I couldn't figure out what it was originally.  I had to climb up a little hill to even get this much of a shot.

The creepy old psych center also had pretty reflections.  And see that dog in the picture?  She was so sweet and friendly!

I worked my way back down to the lilacs nearer to my car since the light was fading and I didn't want to be out there in the dark.  Too many hiding spots, to be honest.  I was looking all over for my favorite lilac, the one with purple in the middle and a white outline, but I never did find it.  But I did find this one.  My plant app doesn't think it's a lilac (Koreanspice viburnum?), but it was down among them.  

I loved how frilly this lilac was.  

The purple on this one was stunning amidst some of the more muted colors. 

As I walked back and forth among the lilacs, the sky got even cooler.  I tried to get back up to a better vantage point, and got this.

I finally went back to my car and headed home, but the sky continued to be interesting.  The layers were so cool!

When I finally got home it was almost dark, but the shadowy clouds and the street light just reflecting off the flowering crab tree next door looked really cool.

I'm not sure I realized how much I needed that walk.  It was so peaceful and so lovely and made me feel like I finally got to enjoy some true spring.  And after the day we'd had, it was just what the doctor ordered.  

My Mother's Day weekend wasn't quite as relaxing as I'd hoped.  We ended up having both sets of parents here, which was nice--more planning food-wise, but less running around than usual.  But I did spend a lot of time just trying to pick up the house and make it presentable beforehand.  I also had to assist Jacob with a long-overdue cleanout of his room, and then we spent part of a picture-perfect late Saturday afternoon at Carter's first official baseball game (after two rainouts, and likely to be followed by two more).  He played great--3 for 4 and a solid pitching stint to secure the win.  It's going to be another crazy season of bad pitching and questionable fielding which usually leads to the max number of runs each inning, but it was good to see him start strong.

As I said, it was nice having the parents over.  The dads did get into it for a minute (courtesy of the bad combo of differing political views and a couple beverages), and we quickly forced them to stop talking.  But otherwise we had a nice afternoon.  We even got a few good pictures:

I also finally tried some wine--first drink since starting my anxiety meds--and while I didn't feel the alcohol more intensely (or really, at all), it did seem to make me more sleepy.  I napped a bit after everyone left, and never really fully perked back up, which meant I didn't really get to do any of the relaxing self-care things I envisioned for myself going into the weekend.  Oh, well.  It's just Carter and me this weekend since the big boys are off to another tournament, so I suppose I might have some time then.  I'm also due a day off of work, but I was hoping for a good weather day to tackle the yard and I'm not sure that's in the cards this week, as much as I need it.  My yard is a lot like motherhood--so much work, but something that brings me a lot of joy, too.  It's always a lot to think about starting over again, but ready or not, here it comes.

So, now to get over the hump of the week, wait for Carter’s results, and inch closer to the weekend…

Weeks of Worry

After a late-night return from Atlantic City, last Monday morning was predictably rough.  We were tired and both boys were not thrilled about school for various reasons.  In fact, Jacob ended up staying home because he was dead tired.  Carter got himself up and out, but it was a struggle, especially because he had his first day of swimming in P.E. and was not excited about it.  I had a ton of work to do myself and made sure to caffeinate so I could be functional.  It wasn't easy, but I managed.  My whole week was pretty crazy, because our Day of Giving was Thursday and I had to work multiple late nights leading up to it just to get things done.  That didn't leave a heck of a lot of time for much else.  

Because Carter's digestive issues were pretty annoying over the weekend, I decided it was definitely time to move forward with more testing.  His doctor wanted to wait until the end of the month to give the iron time to kick in, and now it was time.  He had repeat bloodwork and they also wanted to do some stool testing.  I wasn't sure how that would go, just that I had to pick up the cup at a lab ahead.  I went to pick it up on Monday and hopefully get some advice on how to do this.  We did it when he got home from school on Tuesday, and all things considered it wasn't that bad.  Probably because I can't smell, but thankfully that one was more soft than liquid.  We could have refrigerated it and gone another time, but everyone vetoed putting poop in our fridge, so we opted to just go right there afterward and get everything done at once.  Results started coming in that night, and as I suspected, they weren't any better.  Still lots of inflammation markers, and some of his levels, including iron and calcium, were still low despite supplementing iron.  One of the stool tests also showed evidence of inflammation, and the next day one confirmed there was blood in the stool.  Obviously that's a concerning thing, but lots of things could cause it.  We had to wait a couple days for the rest of the results, but all of the bacterial/parasite stuff came back negative.  A couple more trickled in over the weekend.  Those were both fine--namely the percentage of fat in his poop indicated he wasn't having fat malabsorption.  However, Monday morning another one came in and that one was downright scary.  His calprotectin level was beyond high.  Borderline is 150-200 and his was over 2,000.  That's another inflammation marker, namely one that distinguishes IBD from IBS.  So, at this point that pretty much narrows it down to IBD--Ulcerative Colitis or Crohn's--cancer (yikes), or I think there's still a chance that it could be SIBO or some other bacteria they didn't test for.  I'm not sure if this is officially too much inflammation for a simple intolerance at this point, but it's concerning.

Unfortunately the GI couldn't get him in for another three weeks.  On Friday I called to get on a cancellation list, but once I got this result I called the pediatrician to see if they or I should call again because this result seemingly indicates a more urgent need.  He clearly has a lot of inflammation for some reason, and it's worrying because he's essentially being malnourished right now and has bleeding happening somewhere (hence the blood in the stool and low iron), so he's a little more fatigued and looks a bit pale to me as well.  Fortunately he hasn't lost much weight.  Unfortunately, there isn't much we can do in the meantime until the appointment aside from trying a gluten-free or low FODMAP diet, which is not ideal considering how I already struggle with feeding our family.  I'm just so sad for him, and I think now he's definitely in line for a colonoscopy, which stinks.  I never thought I'd be setting my kid up for one while I was doing my prep, that's for sure.  It appears they'll let him do the Gatorade-Miralax-Dulcolax version of prep, which is a relief because he'd never make it through the one I did without puking.  

Oddly, he and I were both feeling better over the weekend.  He happened to wrap up his month-long probiotic on Friday, but that couldn't have changed something...or could it?  I originally attributed mine to medicating myself on Thursday for my long work day, but the last time I did that, symptoms resumed within a couple days, and by Monday I was still fine.  Although, getting that last test result seemed to get the nervous poop machine back up and running a bit, and I then I tried a prebiotic soda last night, which I swear made things worse last time, and today I've been more off again.  Even still, the rumbling and forcefulness is dramatically reduced from what it once was.  But Carter being better is intriguing since his has clearly been so severe.  I keep hoping that means it's something that would go away anyway (like he and I having some sort of finite infection), but more than likely it's more along the lines of a Crohn's or IBD flare that has died down.  Any of that is obviously a better scenario than say, cancer, which I would think would just continue to get worse.  That his got better after the probiotics ended actually lends credence to the SIBO theory because probiotics can make SIBO worse.  

I did do some random Googling in my insomnia the other night despite my usually effective sleep drugs.  The anxiety hit bad because right before bed Carter showed us a little nodule in his mouth.  It was a little bulb of gum tissue coming up next to one of his new 12-year molars.  I'm hoping it's just inflammation from the eruption, but of course everything has me on edge.  As I was Googling, I came across something called Juvenile Polyposis Syndrome, which is a condition that causes intestinal polyps, even in young people (although the "juvenile" in the name is about the smaller state of the polyps rather than the age of the sufferer).  The symptoms matched up well and it made me wonder because Craig had a lot of polyps during his colonoscopy last year.  So there could be a genetic component there, I suppose.  I hope it's not that, because it carries a cancer risk, but at this point most of the things he could have carry a risk as well, just because the tissue is so tortured by the inflammation.  So, he may have a lot of colonoscopies in his future, sadly.  But if it keeps him healthy, it's worth it.  But I still think it would be better if we found out it was some bacteria they didn't test for that is finally working its way through and all of this will resolve on it's own, or I'd even take the SIBO, which is pretty treatable.  Wishful thinking, I suppose, but I'm just sad and worried and hopeful we can figure this out quickly and easily.  And, more than likely I'll be calling the dentist as well this week to double check that mouth thing.

The Crohn's possibility is scary to me because I've known two people with it--my high school boyfriend and our pastor--and I know both have had scary run-ins with it, including extended hospital stays.  They both live otherwise good, functional lives, by all accounts, but my boyfriend's high school years were challenging.  He was healthy when we were together, thankfully, but I know the toll it took on his body--weight loss leading to steroids that made him oddly chubby for a bit, lots of missed school, and I assume his shorter stature probably had some basis in the nutritional deficiencies he'd suffered all along.  I sort of can't imagine where it would have come from in Carter's case, but I guess with Craig's polyps and Jacob's autoimmune diagnosis (and whatever has been up with me lately), there's plenty of potential for genes to take a wrong turn.  If there is a diagnosis with a genetic component, it makes me think Craig should probably dig a bit deeper into his blood work and meet again with the GI to ensure he's not missing something that should get more care.  I can probably chat with her when I go in for myself later this month to get an idea of what she'd recommend.

So, needless to say, Monday became a rescue klonopin day.  I could barely focus on work until that took effect.  Ugh.

Thankfully, we had a pretty decent weekend before that.  I got out a little early on Friday after my long day Thursday, took a long walk on a perfect day, and then came back and fast-tracked a bunch of outside stuff that needed doing while the weather was decent.  Weeds were starting to take over so I dug up a bunch of the worst invasive ones in my front flower bed, did some weed whacking that was much needed after the first couple mowings of the year, and then remembered to put some dirt in a tray for my garden seedlings, to give them an extra three weeks before planting.  I also trimmed up my hydrangea, which has somehow mostly survived another round of cold.  It felt so good to do some catch-up, though I have a long way to go once the weather improves more consistently.

I then came in and tried to clean up my house since Heather was arriving on Saturday.  She was in town for a librarian conference, highlighted by meeting Ann M. Martin, the author of The Baby-Sitters Club books that we read religiously for years.  She also got to hear Mychal Threets, the super cool internet-famous librarian, speak.  Unfortunately my long work day on Thursday and a tricky schedule Friday prevented us from getting together earlier, but she came to our house early in the afternoon on Saturday and stayed until after lunch Sunday.  Unfortunately the weather decided to go into the tank (extra cold and rainy) the entire time, so anything fun like a walk around Highland Park or the Memorial Art Gallery sculpture park didn't work out, and the blocks of time weren't really ideal for any indoor things I could think up.  But we always do our fair share of talking and could do that just fine from the couch!  It was great seeing her and getting updates on my amazing godson, who I need to go visit very soon!

I rested for most of the rest of Sunday.  I think a couple rough nights of sleep, a busy week of work, and busying myself with a lot stuff around the house finally caught up to me once the adrenaline rush subsided.  I wish I could have been a bit more productive with my free time, but sometimes you just have to let it go.  

So, after a rough anxiety day yesterday, today ended up being sort of weird, too.  Both boys were home.  Carter has a cold now (negative for all the things at this point), and Jacob needed a bit of a resting/mental health day.  I think he's a little stressed out about things (namely, school, his brother, basketball, his own body), so he's struggling to fall asleep.  His anxiety med appointment is tomorrow, so we'll see how that goes.  I had a long chat with a GI doctor this afternoon, going over Carter's symptoms and his progression.  He's relieved to hear that Carter is mostly doing well.  With his hemoglobin as low as it is, he's not far off from recommending an ER visit if things get any worse.  He definitely thinks it could be some sort of IBD, and confirmed that sometimes a bacterial infection can even start that autoimmune process.  The question right now is whether we get an additional procedure or any extra blood work done in the meantime, before his appointment.  I think I want to wait the week out and see if his issues come back.  If they do, then I think it's a definite yes.  If they don't, then maybe we just keep an eye out and see where the GI wants to take this.  It was helpful to get a call from an actual doctor, but also...it's not the best feeling to know your kid is sick enough to warrant that.  I'm encouraged that he's been a bit better, but I also know this is likely to be a long road.  I am feeling a little sorry for myself in hitting the reverse-jackpot of two kids with GI issues, but I guess it could be worse--the doctor was not particularly worried about it being cancer or even a polyp issue, so I guess that's reassuring.  But still...when is this dark cloud going to clear?

Back to the Shore

It's been a busy week...hence why this post is just making it up now even though this happened last weekend.  I had a lot of late work nights and a lot of house catching up to do after another weekend away.  We've also still been dealing with some gastrointestinal annoyances, which probably means my mental and physical energy aren't quite what they should be.  I'll get into that soon.

Anyway, a basketball tournament wasn't exactly how I envisioned making it back to the Jersey Shore, but here we are.  I suppose all of these long car trips are still better than paying for flights and dealing with airport stress and rental cars, but I am definitely flexing my long drive muscles these days.  At least I have a nice new car to do it in, I guess.

Craig was off to Vancouver on Thursday for the Knighthawks' playoff game, so this trip was just me and both boys.  I kept both home from school Friday even though I was planning on working half a day anyway.  Carter had a half day, so while it would have worked, it also wasn't the worst day to miss.  He was trying like heck to avoid swimming in gym class and I guess I can't blame him (he did it on Monday when we got back, though).  Jacob wanted to get in some treatment before we left and I kept reminding him I had an 11am meeting that I couldn't miss, so we needed to get there and back before that.  He took a bit to get ready, but if treatment was truly the half hour it usually is, we'd have been fine.  I ran a couple errands while he was there and then came back and checked on him.  He still had 10 minutes left on his treatment which meant we'd be stuck there for my meeting.  Well, that went the full hour and then some, which was less than ideal.  Jacob was not amused.  He was talking crap about my job the whole way home, saying it's not that complicated and why was that meeting so long and what was the point.  It was a very important meeting planning out roles for our Day of Giving this week and it annoyed me to no end that he was spouting off about something he has no idea about.  Sometimes his teenager know-it-all mode is just brutal.

We got home and had to have lunch...homemade pizza for Carter, leftover tacos for Jacob, and leftover chicken for me.  Not too bad, all things considered.  But as we wrapped up packing, Jacob was lagging.  He wasn't feeling great, in part because he didn't have much breakfast and that screwed up his eating for the day.  He gets in these weird modes sometimes when he doesn't get enough food at the right time--I don't know if it makes his reflux worse or just causes nausea, or if there's a dehydration element to it, or what.  Sometimes I think there's anxiety mixed in over him not eating enough to keep on weight and properly fuel himself.  Ultimately he just feels off and gets hard to deal with.  It took a while to get him back on track so we could finally leave, but now we were running way later than I wanted to be.  But of course it was MY fault because of my meeting and had nothing to do with him running late or taking extra long.  Anyway...

The weather was a bit iffy with on and off rain and some wind, but the drive was manageable--just less enjoyable.  We settled on a Jersey Mike's near Binghamton for dinner, and after that I don't think we stopped at all.  It was about a four hour stretch with lots of rain and mostly in the dark, which was far from ideal.  I will say, the drive through Philadelphia was pretty cool, even at night.  There were so many lights and cool buildings and other things to see.  We saw Penn and their stadium, we saw the stadium district, and aside from traffic, it was a pretty cool route.  We did finally stop at a Wawa gas station just off the highway about 15 minutes away from our hotel so I could go to the bathroom before whatever chaos hotel check-in might hold.  I also got a couple pretzels to snack on during the trip.  They are the BEST.  

We got to the hotel a little before 11pm.  The drive into Atlantic City was interesting.  There was some sort of clouds or fog hanging over the skyline.  It was hard to tell if it was rain remnants or possible wildfire smoke.  There was a wildfire 45 minutes away that week that was only about half contained.  It was hard to tell all the way through Saturday what the cloud cover was.  It obscured a couple hotels significantly as we came in, to the point one of them only had an LED orb on the roof visible.  It took forever to find a parking spot in the hotel ramp, but we finally did and loaded up like pack mules so we didn't have to come all the way back.

We were staying at Harrah's, which is a casino.  That was definitely a new experience for the boys.  We had to walk right through parts of the casino on the long walk to the lobby, and we got a couple views of scantily clad ladies out for a fun night and things like that.  We finally got to the lobby and ended up having an endlessly long wait to check in.  Just what we needed around 11pm after a 6+ hour drive.  As we were waiting, I checked my phone and my heart broke in a million pieces right there in line.  A high school classmate of mine, Alex, had been battling colon cancer.  He was only diagnosed in early November.  He had caught pneumonia a few weeks ago, but hadn't posted much about his condition since.  His wife was also in our class and had posted a vague but concerning post the other day, but nothing could have prepared me for this--he passed away that morning.  It was absolutely crushing for so many reasons.  He was only 46 and had so little time to fight.  Their love story was sweet and so many people adored him.  To be honest, I wasn't really a fan of his in high school.  I think we were in one class together and I never really liked his brand of swagger.  But at some point after high school, he got into insurance sales and became very successful.  About 20 years ago he and this other classmate reconnected.  She had three kids from a previous relationship and Alex just swooped right in and was a fantastic father figure to them.  They ended up not getting married until early in the pandemic, but their love was clear and very sweet.  They had a couple grandkids, too, and then everything came crashing down with his diagnosis, which was extra traumatizing since his wife lost her mom to cancer very young.  Alex was part of the reason I finally got around to scheduling my colonoscopy (in addition to my cousin who beat it last year, though he just had cancer show back up in another spot, sadly).  He didn't post much about his condition aside from the pneumonia update but he posted a lot of political stuff in the meantime, up until about a week before.  I don't know what happened but clearly things went downhill pretty fast.  I was just so sad and they've been on my mind ever since.

As we were waiting, we noticed a combative guest yelling at a manager with security guys standing nearby.  She was an overdone, plump-lipped, fiesty woman--typical Jersey, to be honest--complaining about customer service.  The longer we stood there checking in, I realized she was complaining about getting comped a room but not being able to smoke in it.  Like, what?!  You got a FREE room and you can't take your smoking elsewhere for the night?  Wow.  Yet another thing you don't see in our typical hotels.

Our room was pretty nice.  It looked pleasantly high end, and the bed was comfortable.  We had a view over the bay.  

Our view the next morning

Oddly, we couldn't figure out which tower we were in.  There are five, and we couldn't tell exactly where we were, even with Google Maps showing our dot.  It was odd.  We eventually did figure out we were in the newest, tallest tower, which was a bonus.  We settled in for the night and I very much enjoyed my pretzel while I caught up on the rest of life and we all got ready for bed.

We slept in a bit that morning because Jacob's first game wasn't until later.  It did take a bit longer to get ready than would have been ideal, but let's face it--it had been a late night and we were tired!  We decided to go to Ocean City to go back to the good breakfast spot we ate at on vacation there a few years ago.  Jacob enjoyed his gluten-free French toast with fruit, Carter had giant chocolate chip pancakes, and I had eggs benedict.  Everything was really good, but I really miss breakfast being a cheap meal.  We headed up to the boardwalk for a bit after that, mostly so I could see the new pirate ship at Castaway Cove.  That was the amusement park on the boardwalk whose main building burned down a while before our last trip.  I think there was mostly an empty space or maybe the early stages of construction then, but it took until literally last week for the famous giant pirate ship, pirate, and parrot on top of the building to make it back, this time with a bonus octopus.  It was neat to see it intact again.

We didn't have a lot of time, so we rushed back because even though he brought most of his basketball stuff, Jacob forgot to grab water and Gatorade and wanted to change in the room.  I was concerned because getting through the casino property takes a while and our parking pass wasn't working so I knew we'd get stuck going out of the ramp.  He was not happy with me at that point.  We only ended up getting there about 10 minutes late, and I have a feeling there were other stragglers due to just trying to navigate everything.  The parking ramp had signs indicating it was full, which panicked me a little, but I was assured some people had left.  We got a spot but it was almost to the end of the longest one story parking ramp I have ever been in.  We paid an absurd amount for our admission for the weekend (pretty much double typical tournaments, on top of a $20 parking fee), and then checked out the convention center.  

Note the giant fish hanging from the ceiling

The basketball area was giant--something like 27 courts, I think.  There were hoops as far as the eye could see.  

There weren't a lot of chairs and the only other place to sit was a section of tables where people were eating, but the tables were huge and it was awkward to try to sit on the empty half of someone else's table.  We finally found a free one and killed some time there.  We had a lot of time to kill and sadly food was super expensive.  I convinced Carter to wait until after Jacob's game when we'd find out when we were playing next, just so we didn't ruin a chance to get a good meal.  We were eyeing up the Wahlburgers in one of the casinos, so that was a good motivator.

Game one didn't go quite according to plan.  Jacob just couldn't make a shot.  He didn't start and he didn't play as much as the first tournament I was at.  His play besides his shooting was actually really good.  He was getting some blocks and steals and a couple nice assists, but I knew the shots had to be nagging at him.  

Surprisingly, he was in decent spirits after that loss.  He feels like he's doing all the right things and that the shots will come eventually.  Despite the fact that I did not want to pay another $20 for parking if we left to eat, I conceded because our next game wasn't for a few more hours.  

Photo op at the convention center

We headed over to the Ocean casino where Wahlburgers is.  We tried to get parking that wasn't expensive (Ocean City can have free lots this time of year--why not Atlantic City?), but eventually figured out nothing was close.  So into the casino ramp we went.

Our "linner" was really good, as always.  Jacob and I had the same things we had last time, and Carter had a burger.  We shared fries in addition to sneaking a few of Jacob's parmesan truffle tots.  Everything was delicious.  I wish we would have had more time to explore that casino.  The little bit we saw was really cool.

Carter looks so little compared to those giant lampshades!

We headed back to the hotel for a little break before the next game.  Then back for another $20 parking charge, but thankfully a better spot this time.  The second game Jacob at least scored, but it was another loss.  We debated food for a while but since it was late and most places were closing, we ended up at a Chick-fil-A in Egg Harbor, which was the exact one we went to down the road from our crappy hotel in 2021.  We came back to the room to eat, and I had every intention of leaving the kids to go down and explore the casino a bit more, but then I got into listening to Craig's broadcast and then I just got tired, so that never happened.  The Knighthawks lost their playoff game, which is bad news-good news.  A playoff run is always fun, but it takes a lot off Craig's shoulders and makes the next few weeks a little easier.  

I'll pause here to say that it was a rather interesting trip for scenery.  As I said, the casino experience in general was rare, but we're simply not used to staying at giant hotels, or being around other giant hotels, or really anything in the way of luxury aside from maybe Disney.  But obviously that is a completely different feel from this.  For example, our hotel had a giant domed pool.  We could see it from a window near the elevator.

This was the view from inside--or rather, from just outside the inside entrance.  It's an adult-only pool, unfortunately.  The family one is in another less scenic spot, and it's only open in the summer.  But this looked pretty cool, and it even turns into a night club at night!

This was a view from outside.  We were on the back side (or the right side from this angle) of that tall skinny tower, which is much wider on the other side.  There are three older towers, and two newer ones.  The old ones were pretty blah and even a little tattered on the outside.  That Harrah's sign was looking rough.  It needs some repainting and some new neon.  Jacob was actually pretty tickled by the classic neon signs, though.

Spring had sprung in a big way in New Jersey and the tulips outside the casino were gorgeous!

The boys were annoyed when I was quickly snapping this shot because we were in a rush, but how could I not?

This is a slightly different view from higher up, looking out from the parking ramp.  You can see the sprawl a bit more and a slightly better view of the new tower we were in.

Here's the other side of the older buildings...

I tried to get a better picture of our view of the wetland looking area below our room, but the reflections were killing me.  There were a lot of birds hanging out in this area.  We did see a good number of boats as well.

This was across the street from our hotel - the MGM in the foreground and Borgata (home of the Chihulys from our last trip) behind it.  So much gold!  Although, ironically, the Golden Nugget was nearby as well and was NOT gold, despite being a former Trump property, which are usually guilded to the max in some way.  The Taj Mahal switched over to the Hard Rock Hotel years ago, and oddly the Trump Plaza tower was demolished but one of the other buildings is still there with a giant gold crest on the outside, though the name and I think the center of the crest came off a long time ago.  No idea why that building didn't go with the rest of it.

It's a little hard to see in this picture unless you zoom in, but there were these gorgeous purple trees lining some of the highways, especially the Atlantic City Expressway.  I was obsessed!  They looked a bit like giant lilacs, but the flowers hung down.  I think they're called the Princess Tree.  Apparently they're invasive, but I'd love to have more of those around in our area!

On Sunday morning we got up a little earlier, but unfortunately with the packing up and checking out, we really didn't get much earlier of a start.  We did find out that our check-in person never set up our parking properly, which is why we kept getting stuck at the parking ramp exit.  Did I mention that one of the times an Asian woman behind us got out of her car, waved me off, and swiped her rewards card just so the gate would open without getting an attendant?  Oh well, it worked.  We headed to Egg Harbor, which had a dedicated gluten-free bakery.  They actually had a location in Ocean City but it appeared to not be open until Memorial Day.  It was tempting to go back to the same restaurant where we did breakfast the day before, but it was so expensive and everything cost so much money on this trip, from the food to the tolls to the parking, that I just wanted a break.  So Jacob got a cinnamon roll and a donut from the bakery and Carter and I grabbed a couple things from Dunkin down the road.  Then we went back to Ocean City anyway since we had an hour to kill.  It was finally a bright, sunny day, though still a bit cool and windy.  The boardwalk had quite a few people walking it, but I can't say most of the open places were very busy.  The ocean wasn't quite as angry as the prior day, but I still wouldn't have recommended being out there.

We took a walk toward the far end of the boardwalk to get a last glimpse of the Wonderland Pier, which closed at the end of last year.  It's sad to lose such an icon, and I know residents are concerned about what might go there.  They're assuming condos or maybe a fancy hotel.  I have to say that after going to Rehoboth Beach, which had a number of nicer hotels on the boardwalk (and far fewer activities), I'm surprised there aren't more nice hotels on the OC boardwalk.  There are a couple nicer ones but I feel like they're more "beach nice" than luxury.  So many beach hotels are crappy two-star motor inns at their core, even if they've been kept up.  You're still paying over $200 a night in peak season for something that would be around $70 or less anywhere else.  It's all about location.  But I suppose a nice place at the far end would be reasonable--as long as the boardwalk and beach stay public, which is probably the bigger concern.

The boardwalk is just so lovely.  It looks pretty empty here but there were quite a few walkers further down.  

We shopped a little bit but eventually had to get on the road back to the tournament.  Jacob had to be there extra early so Carter and I just killed time at the tables again, since they were the only seats for those who weren't watching a game.  Alas, the game ended up starting early and it was at the far end of the venue so we ended up missing the first 10 minutes or so.  Jacob got five points during that time (of course), but then didn't score after we got there.  The team made a really nice comeback in the game and ended up winning, but unfortunately one of their better players sprained his ankle later in the game.  That was a bummer, but hopefully he'll recover in time for the next tournament, which isn't for a while, thankfully.  After the game, while the team was meeting, we heard a commotion and there was a big fight two courts down.  It's so ridiculous because even parents were getting into it, and we know it was a consolation game, so what was the big deal?  I heard one parent near our court tell their kid not to go anywhere near it for fear the guns would come out.  Sounds crazy, but something like that happened (or was alleged to have happened?) a few years ago at a venue we'll be at a few times this season.

Jacob was eager to get on the road to get some food, as it was close to 3pm and we hadn't really eaten much that day.  I had suggested going to a place called "Not Your Average Joe's" that has good reviews, but we opted for simple and just ended up at a Red Robin on the other side of Philly.  It took a while to get there with traffic and all, and I didn't love sitting down for a meal when we had a long drive ahead of us, but it was really the safest spot for Jacob and was exactly what he was craving.  I was so fast-fooded out that I had a side salad with my chicken wrap instead of my beloved fries.  We got back on the road for a bit and then stopped at a Wawa.  I figured I'd gas up while we were there so I wouldn't have to stop for the rest of the trip.  We also needed more water and I figured I'd get myself another pretzel, but alas, that location was out!  Boooo.  I settled for a Sprite/Cherry slushie.

We got back on the road after that and only stopped once, I think somewhere in Pennsylvania between the Poconos and Wilkes-Barre for a bathroom stop.  The long haul on the way back was tough because it got dark right around Binghamton.  I opted to take the 86/390 route home because that last stretch of Thruway from Syracuse to Rochester is killer at night and at the end of a long drive.  The Southern Tier route has more regularly occurring exits and towns to make you feel like you're making progress.  For me it felt like it was worth the extra 10-15 minutes to not risk being drowsy on the long stretch of Thruway.  I kept myself awake with snacks while the boys cocooned up--Carter with his blankets and Jacob with a closed hood and his music.  I think Carter went to sleep around 9.  Jacob seemed to doze a bit as well.  We got home a little after 11pm.  I was beat, but I was thankful for a safe and relatively successful trip.  The basketball wasn't great, but Jacob was in a good frame of mind about it all.  I truly enjoyed making some memories with the boys and getting a much-needed change of scenery.

We had a busy week ahead and a few things to tackle, so all I needed that night was a good night's sleep...as if my body would have let me have anything less at that point!