Fall Break Back East

We had a great time back East for Fall Break! (October 18-23) It was my first time and it was a perfect time to go! The fall colors were beautiful! Everywhere we went, the trees were changing (such vibrant colors) and I love the New England style house!! Just like a kid would draw! If I ever build my own house, that is what it will look like!

We flew in on Monday and got there pretty late. They are 2 hours ahead of us, which really threw things off. (It made it really hard to get up early)

Tuesday we just hung out with Jarom's sister. She has 1 kid in school, so they normally stay close to home. The live in a suburb of Boston (Ashland). We looked up a "family farm" to go pick apples and get some homemade cider. When we got there, it ended up being just a farm store. Oops. But we got some real maple syrup, sweet apple cider, apple butter, and an apple crisp. Later we went for a hike around a lake close to their house. It was amazing to see how the east coast compares to the areas we are use to seeing out here. It was really beautiful. My favorite part was the bright red leaves and the real acorns. I was just like a little kid- picking up every bring red leaf off the ground. They started little by little, but pretty soon they were covering the ground. By the time we got back to the car, I had a whole collection of "pretty leaves."

Wednesday Jarom's sister took their girl out of school (it was only half day) and we did the Freedom Trail through Boston. I really like seeing the USS Constitution (a navy ship from the War of 1812). It was amazing to see the size of the ship! I got some awesome clam chowder at Quincy Market and bought myself a Boston sweatshirt!

USS Constitution - Used in the War of 1812

Statue of Paul Revere - If you don't know who he is, open a history book!

Thursday we went down to Newport, Rhode Island. It is a coastal town for wealthy people to escape to for the hot humid summer. They have about 10 houses/properties that you can tour that are all from the early 19th century. We only had time to see 2, but I could have spent all day down there!! The most impressive house was called The Breakers. It was owned by the Vanderbelt's and is the definition of the Gilded Age. It was AMAZING!! That is a whole different level of wealth that I can barely understand. It was massive made of marble and steel and all the walls were hand carved and every little detail is extravagant!! I suggest google-ing for pictures of the inside because we can't take pictures while you are in there. http://www.newportmansions.org/page10001206.cfm

The front of The Breakers

The back of The Breakers

Friday we traveled to Concord. It was the PERFECT little New England small town!! When we were driving down main st Jarom said "I'm pretty sure this is how every kid halloween movie starts." We visited the museum, walked around town, and visited the Old North Bridge (when the Revolutionary War started). I loved being in this area because it was so picturesque!

Highway to Concord. Absolutely BEAUTIFUL!!

Old North Bridge - Where the Revolutionary War Began - "The Short Heard Round the World"

Katie at the Old North Bridge

Jarom in Concord. Beautiful houses! And I swear the whole town is completely full of cemeteries.

Saturday we went up to Salem. It was the weekend before Halloween weekend, so it was VERY busy! Not really our seen because we aren't really into witches. The history museum is being remodeled, so we didn't stay too long. Our plane left around 6:00 so we decided to go back to Boston for some good food. We asked Rick Atkin (Rachel's husband) where we should go and he suggested a little Italian restaurant. It was ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS!!! Everything that entered my mouth tasted amazing! If you are ever in Boston go to Trattoria Il Pannino. It is expensive, but totally worth the price!

Tales from the Hospital

For those of you who don't know, I have Cystic Fibrosis. From time to time, when my lungs get really bad, I have to go into the hospital for a "tune up." Not sure if that is the medical term, but I've used it my entire life. Pretty much, it is 2 weeks of very strong IV antibiotics, respiratory therapy four times a day, and frequent detailed questions about everything that goes in and comes out of my body. But just because my lungs were sick, it did not mean that I felt bad. I was definitely not lying in a hospital bed feeling miserable. The following are my funny/annoying tales from my time in the Hospital. Enjoy!

1. The nurse told me that she needed a urine sample. No problem, I’ve done those before. So she gives me the cup and the little moist towelettes and leaves. So I go to the bathroom and since I’ve done these before I know that you are suppose to wipe with the towelettes before so you get a “clean sample”. So I wipe... and about 5 second after I realized very quickly that it was not a moist towelette-- it was an alcohol wipe. No, that is not meant to be used in that way. It burned!! So then I’m at a loss of what to do to stop the burning!! Cause it is only increasing and I don’t have anything with me in the bathroom. I resorted to regular toilet paper, which helped a little but did not fix the problem. I burned for a while.

2. Everyone keeps bringing me a wheelchair to take me places. But I feel lazy taking a whee

lchair places. I drove here myself and I walked all the way to my room to check in. At what point did my health decline so much that I need to be carted around? How do I get on the non-wheelchair list? Because when they bring the wheelchair and I don’t sit in it, then we both get to walk the wheelchair around with us. That is awkward. Also, you have to have a transport person everywhere you go, just in case you pass out somewhere without anyone to help you. When should I point out that I drove myself here. Was that unsafe?

3. Up until this point, my visit to the hospital had been uneventful. It helps when you know what you are doing, but overall I was the “easiest patient.” They started me on a new IV med today called vancomycin. The Dr wanted me to start it slowly because I’ve never had it before. So the nurse told me about possible side effects and everything and we started it. About an hour into it, the nurse came in to move it a little faster. They wanted it done in 2 hours, and at the current speed it would take 2.5 hours. So not a huge difference. About 5-10 min later my scalp started itching. And not just a little... like a ton!! And then it moved to my cheeks and on to the back of the neck. So I called the nurse because one of the side effects is called “red man” where you get all flushed. Didn’t mention itching, but I was itching enough to know that it wasn’t random. So my nurse decided to give me a shot of benadryl. He gave me 25mg, which is the size of a normal pill, so no big deal. It stopped the itching but about 30 seconds later I was totally floating and almost passed out. I was holding on to things to try and keep me steady even though I was already sitting. I guess my body wan’t use to the IV benadryl. Also, I had been doing my vest and nebulizer at the same time, which I’m sure did not help the situation. For about 10-20 min I had everyone watching me while I took deep breaths an concentrated on not passing out. It eventually went away, but then I was super sleepy, which is a normal side effect of benadryl.

4. This one is titled Ice Water. I don’t know what the deal is, but everyone is always asking if I want some ice water. And some just bring it without asking. Sometime I come back to my room or come out of the bathroom, and there is a big cup of ice water. What is the deal? It is getting a little out of hand! This morning around 4:30 I woke up to the alarm on my IV machine, which was very loud. They were trying to fix it, and here comes one of the nurses with a huge cup of ice water. Honestly? Did she really think that I was going to stay up and drink it? It was 4 flippin’ 30 in the morning!! (Which is exactly what I texted to Traci when it happened.)

5. They had to draw more blood and the guy asked if I was ok with it on the inside of my wrist. I responded with, “I can’t see why not? No one has even been looking there.” Now I know why not!! It hurts worse after!! So much worse!! So when I said, “why not?” his response should have been, “because it hurts more.” The warning would have been much appreciated!!

6. Last night Laurel and Layna came to visit. When I was doing my vest Layna wanted to take a picture because she was proud of me and said it made me cool. I said sarcastically, “yeah, so cool with my big white puffy vest with velcro.” And then we look over at Laurel who is wearing a white puffy vest with buttons. It was so funny. We took a picture to show the similarities.