It is now March 11, 2013, two months and one day since I had my prostate removed. I said in my last post that I probably would not report on my recovery, but all has been going very well so I can report that all is going very well. Control of urinary function [I'm sorry, but how else do I say it] has improved considerably and is almost back to normal. I have returned to the doctor's office twice for follow up visits since my stitches were removed and all is well. My PSA count is zero and I have no other issues with regard to the surgery. I have been working out regularly at the local Y and walking, now that the snow has mostly melted. Raquel, my coach at the Y has been very supportive and has shown me how to use a variety of machines. There is a series of twelve machines that exercise every part of your body and the results are captured automatically on a computer. I can also add any other activity that I do outside, or on other non-computerized machines at the Y, so the program keeps track of my physical progress.
After my surgery, I was trying to be very careful and not set the weight on the machines too high. I have now begun to increase the weights because I noticed that some little old ladies that were ahead of me were lifting more weights than I. Not a situation that could be allowed to continue. If they could lift that much than I could lift even more. Don't worry readers, I'm working my way up gradually. I really don't want to do anything foolish and get hollered at by Raquel. My Y membership costs $25.00 a year for full membership with my Medicare Advantage plan (for which I pay a zero dollar a month premium). I can't believe what a good deal this is. There is an exercise room with oodles of machines, free weights, several gyms, an indoor heated pool, two outdoor pools, a dry sauna, hot tub, all kinds of programs for health and fitness and I get four free hour lessons with my own personal coach (that would be Raquel). There are always staff members around to assist, give advice and help in any way that they can. It takes about fifteen minutes to get there from our house. There is also another Y about fifteen minutes in the other direction. We haven't been to that one yet. It is newer and I guess bigger, but there is no consensus as to which one is better. Some people like one better, some the other. Anyway, it's a nice perk from our medical insurance.
My Medicare Advantage HMO plan is proving to be very good. I was very concerned when we moved up here about changing from Original Medicare with a Supplement (Medigap) plan to an HMO or PPO. Original Medicare with the Supplement plus a drug plan would cost, this year, about $250.00 on top of the approximately $100.00 a month I have to pay for Medicare Part B. My old plan paid everything with no co-pays. The new HMO has co-pays, but they are minimal and the plan has been great. I could not be more pleased with it. All I pay now are the co-pays and the $100.00 for Medicare Part B. Even my prescriptions are far less expensive with this plan.
So, anyway, all of this isn't very funny and some people expect me to write rollicking hysterical material. Unfortunately prostates aren't very funny, especially when they are misbehaving or coming out of you. Now, however, all of the tests are behind me (unintended pun), I appear to be functioning pretty much at my level of normal and have probably exhausted most claims to sympathy. In other words, I ought to get on with my life. As I'm writing this I notice that Blogspot is giving me messages that this or that is going wrong and that I should try again later. I don't know what I should try later, but maybe I should stop while I'm ahead and go out and look for something humorous to memorialize. Whatever that turns out to be it most likely won't have anything to do with computers.
Monday, March 11, 2013
Saturday, January 19, 2013
The Operation
Some people have admonished me again for not writing on my blog and they are right. I have not written anything since August, 2012. I hope I will do better.
People are actually interested in knowing details about my operation. So, I will tell you what I know. for further details and for things that I may not want to know, you can visit www.daVinciprostatectomy.com.
I had a laparoscopic prostatectomy. It all started innocently enough with a routine annual physical exam. My PSA level was slightly elevated at 3.7. Follow up is usually recommended after the PSA exceeds 4.0, but the DRE (digital rectal exam) revealed a slight abnormality on one lobe of the prostate. My doctor said that I could wait for three months and see what another PSA might reveal, or he could send me to a urologist. I said that I wasn't too keen on seeing a urologist, but if it was what he recommended then I would.... Before I finished my sentence, he said, "Okay, let's make an appointment for you." Off I went to the urologist who did his own DRE. That means that they stick a finger up your butt and feel the prostate. He said that based on that exam and the PSA, I should have a biopsy to find out if there really was cancer present. This was beginning to sound ominous. A biopsy is performed by sticking a thin probe into the rectum, that has a camera for ultrasound, a needle for a numbing agent and 12 needles to take prostate samples. The best description that I heard of the procedure is that it is uncomfortable, but bearable. It only takes a few minutes.
Of the twelve samples taken, the analysis showed cancer in about five or six of them, if I remember correctly. Now what to do. There is external radiation, internal radiation (seeds) or surgery to remove the prostate. Surgery is the only option that offers the choice of getting the source of the cancer out of the body. A CT scan and a bone scan showed that it hadn't spread beyond the prostate, so that seemed like the smartest option.
My doctor likes to do these early in the morning so we had to arrive at Rochester General at 6:00 a.m. People were friendly and efficient. I was moved to a couple of stations where IV was inserted and vital signs recorded. Anne was instructed where to go during surgery and given a cell phone to await calls from the operating room (from the staff, not from me obviously). In the holding room, the doctor appeared and told Anne that he would speak to her after I was done. I was put onto the daVinci cart and Anne was sent off to the surgical waiting area. The daVinci cart is designed so that a part of it falls down to a 45 degree angle so that your intestines slide in the direction of your head to give more room for the surgery. [I'm only saying because people wanted to know.] When they got me on the cart, the anesthesiologist took my blood pressure and said it was a little high at 177/105. I said "You think. I wonder why that could be." They started rolling me down the hall and he said, "I'll give you something to relax you."
My next sensation was that I was dreaming that I was in some kind of a train rolling into a station and that there were all these people running around dressed in blue. As the fog cleared I realized that there were actual people in blue scrubs running around and that I had arrived in the recovery room. I figured that since they weren't dressed in red I probably wasn't in Hell and since they weren't dressed in white, I probably wasn't in heaven either, so I must still be on earth. I never did get to see the daVinci robot with which the surgery was performed.
I arrived in my room with six small incisions across my abdomen and a catheter in me. The catheter and surgical staples were removed yesterday (Friday, January 18, 2013). I was fed a totally liquid diet until dinner the day after surgery which arrived a short time before I was released.
I was given good care in the hospital and was grateful for the people that came and stayed with Anne as she waited. (Linda T, Art, Marian, Andy and Mary Kay). I was also grateful to those who called with prayers, wishes, visited at home, sent food and promised ice cream when I was feeling ready for it.
It was so wonderful to sleep in my own bed the first night home from the hospital. Anne has taken very good care of me and I have even had three visits from Lifetime Care nurses, an outfit associated with the hospital. The problem now will be to learn to control urinary function with external sphincter muscles since the prostate which controlled secondary urinary control mechanisms is gone. Everyone is different. Some men regain control after several weeks, others after many months. I think I may not report on the progress of that.
So, there you have it. Prostate removal from my horizontal (through most of the proceedings) point of view. I hope you have been entertained by this narrative and I hope that if you are male or know any that you care about, you will urge a regular PSA test and/or digital rectal exam.
People are actually interested in knowing details about my operation. So, I will tell you what I know. for further details and for things that I may not want to know, you can visit www.daVinciprostatectomy.com.
I had a laparoscopic prostatectomy. It all started innocently enough with a routine annual physical exam. My PSA level was slightly elevated at 3.7. Follow up is usually recommended after the PSA exceeds 4.0, but the DRE (digital rectal exam) revealed a slight abnormality on one lobe of the prostate. My doctor said that I could wait for three months and see what another PSA might reveal, or he could send me to a urologist. I said that I wasn't too keen on seeing a urologist, but if it was what he recommended then I would.... Before I finished my sentence, he said, "Okay, let's make an appointment for you." Off I went to the urologist who did his own DRE. That means that they stick a finger up your butt and feel the prostate. He said that based on that exam and the PSA, I should have a biopsy to find out if there really was cancer present. This was beginning to sound ominous. A biopsy is performed by sticking a thin probe into the rectum, that has a camera for ultrasound, a needle for a numbing agent and 12 needles to take prostate samples. The best description that I heard of the procedure is that it is uncomfortable, but bearable. It only takes a few minutes.
Of the twelve samples taken, the analysis showed cancer in about five or six of them, if I remember correctly. Now what to do. There is external radiation, internal radiation (seeds) or surgery to remove the prostate. Surgery is the only option that offers the choice of getting the source of the cancer out of the body. A CT scan and a bone scan showed that it hadn't spread beyond the prostate, so that seemed like the smartest option.
My doctor likes to do these early in the morning so we had to arrive at Rochester General at 6:00 a.m. People were friendly and efficient. I was moved to a couple of stations where IV was inserted and vital signs recorded. Anne was instructed where to go during surgery and given a cell phone to await calls from the operating room (from the staff, not from me obviously). In the holding room, the doctor appeared and told Anne that he would speak to her after I was done. I was put onto the daVinci cart and Anne was sent off to the surgical waiting area. The daVinci cart is designed so that a part of it falls down to a 45 degree angle so that your intestines slide in the direction of your head to give more room for the surgery. [I'm only saying because people wanted to know.] When they got me on the cart, the anesthesiologist took my blood pressure and said it was a little high at 177/105. I said "You think. I wonder why that could be." They started rolling me down the hall and he said, "I'll give you something to relax you."
My next sensation was that I was dreaming that I was in some kind of a train rolling into a station and that there were all these people running around dressed in blue. As the fog cleared I realized that there were actual people in blue scrubs running around and that I had arrived in the recovery room. I figured that since they weren't dressed in red I probably wasn't in Hell and since they weren't dressed in white, I probably wasn't in heaven either, so I must still be on earth. I never did get to see the daVinci robot with which the surgery was performed.
I arrived in my room with six small incisions across my abdomen and a catheter in me. The catheter and surgical staples were removed yesterday (Friday, January 18, 2013). I was fed a totally liquid diet until dinner the day after surgery which arrived a short time before I was released.
I was given good care in the hospital and was grateful for the people that came and stayed with Anne as she waited. (Linda T, Art, Marian, Andy and Mary Kay). I was also grateful to those who called with prayers, wishes, visited at home, sent food and promised ice cream when I was feeling ready for it.
It was so wonderful to sleep in my own bed the first night home from the hospital. Anne has taken very good care of me and I have even had three visits from Lifetime Care nurses, an outfit associated with the hospital. The problem now will be to learn to control urinary function with external sphincter muscles since the prostate which controlled secondary urinary control mechanisms is gone. Everyone is different. Some men regain control after several weeks, others after many months. I think I may not report on the progress of that.
So, there you have it. Prostate removal from my horizontal (through most of the proceedings) point of view. I hope you have been entertained by this narrative and I hope that if you are male or know any that you care about, you will urge a regular PSA test and/or digital rectal exam.
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Comments
I have turned off the word verification for comments, so, hopefully, it will be easier to post comments. They will still be subject to my review before they are posted, so if you are a spammer or such, forgetaboutit.
Friday, August 24, 2012
The Amazing Race
We visited the White Mountains of New Hampshire where son Leo, along with 600 other cyclists, bicycled the seven or eight miles up Mt. Washington. It took him about an hour and fifteen minutes (maybe sixteen minutes). He did very well and blew away his previous best time. This was his seventh time up the mountain and our first. One person went up on a unicycle. It took him about two hours of peddling, I think. Are you reading this grandson Stephen? No, we didn't bicycle, we drove Leo's Fourunner up. You can't bicycle down so you have to have a way down before they let you go up. We found another rider to bring down so that there was no fee for our drive up.The way it worked was that if you didn't have a ticket for any rider, you didn't drive up. If you had a ticket for one cyclist, you could drive up, but had to pay the full fee. If you had two or more tickets, you got to drive for free. That's all because of the very limited parking at the top.
The first picture shows Leo near the summit. The fellow with Leo in the second picture is Dr. Kevin from Vermont, the fellow to whom we gave a ride down.
The weather on Mt. Washington, which is known to have some of the worst on earth and boasts the strongest wind gust ever recorded on earth at 231 miles an hour, was really quite pleasant while we were there. Note the chains over the roof of the building at the finish line. The announcer even commented on the remarkable lack of wind. There were some clouds that rolled in once in a while totally obscuring the buildings and just about everything else. The famous cog railway comes up there too, but we didn't ride it. After the race everyone had a great big turkey dinner in a large tent set up at the base of the mountain.
I'm a little out of chronological order here as, on our way to New Hampshire, we stayed over night at nephew Steve's vacation home on North Hero Island in Vermont. We had a good time there.
The White Mountains are really quite rugged and if you are the adventurous type, a great place to hike or rock climb. We hiked, played in some water falls and streams (the water was cold), but we didn't rock climb like the dude in the middle of the next picture on the rock wall. We were standing there looking at the people climbing the rock wall (Cathedral Ledge) and Anne said that it looked like part of the wall was overhanging. A couple next to us said, "No, it doesn't overhang on that side. We just climbed it this morning. We climbed the other side the other day."
While in North Conway we visited a toy train museum.
We left New Hampshire on Monday morning and headed to the Adirondack Museum in Blue Mountain Lake.
It took three hours to deliver the mail and the trip was very enjoyable. After that we drove the little less than three and a half hours to get home. It seemed like a long ride from New Hampshire, but there is no straight road east to west. You have to go around all those mountains which means going north then south to get west, sort of like tacking a boat. We enjoyed our trip. We got to spend a little time with nephew Steve and his kids, niece Linda, her son, Matt, also Anne's brother Art and wife Marian. We got to spend more time with Leo, Kristen and Tyler and participate, as road crew, in the Mount Washington Auto Road Bike Climb which was truly awesome. I don't know how these people do it. I salute them all. It really was an amazing race. I promised I would try to get in shape for the race next year. I didn't say I would do the race, just try to get in shape for it. We don't have mountains quite like New Hampshire where we live, but we do have plenty of hiking trails, lakes, waterfalls and streams, so we can enjoy these things without the long ride. Now I have to go and somehow get in shape. I am inspired.
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Thousand Islands and I Forgot My Cameras
We took a road trip on Tuesday and Wednesday, with Anne's brother Andy and his wife, Mary Kay to the Thousand Islands. We had talked about going sometime and they decided that we should get going at 6:00 am on Tuesday morning. Six o'clock in the morning! That means we got up at 5:45 am. I thought those hours of the day were obliterated since I retired, but they're still there. Fortunately I don't see them very often. I volunteered to drive, so I drove to Alexandria Bay, NY, about a three hour drive. We stopped at a diner / truck stop near Route 81 for breakfast and it took a little longer than I would have liked to get served and eat, but we got to the Uncle Sam Boat Tour on time to catch the 10:00 o'clock boat. It was a nice ride, but as I said in the title I forgot my cameras - both of them. The evening before I charged the batteries, got them in a small camera bag and was all ready to go, except they didn't go.
I had been looking for a 400 or 500 mm lens for my Nikon, but the prices for Nikon glass were really high, but as I was looking I discovered a new breed of point and shoot cameras with long lenses. You can't interchange lenses, but they cost about $400 to $500. dollars, much cheaper than a Nikon lens and, you get a whole camera for that price. I started by looking at a Nikon Coolpix, but figured that since lenses were not interchangeable, I didn't have to stick with Nikon. I settled on a Sony with a Carl Zeiss 28 to 820 mm f2.8-f 5.6 lens. It takes pictures, movies and I think it gets the coffee going in the morning. I also have an older Pentax waterproof point and shoot that also takes videos which also had its battery charged and was patiently waiting for its owner to remember to take it along. I got the Pentax several years ago for kayaking and canoeing and it works fine. It's very small and fits nicely in the breast pocket of my PFD (Personal Flotation Device), or my pant's pocket so it's nice to take along. It takes superb pictures and videos. It should go with me everywhere. The Sony is a little bulkier, a little smaller than my Nikon, but a whole lot lighter, but, it doesn't fit in my pocket.
Anyway, here we are on the boat tour and I don't have a camera. Fortunately, Andy brought his point and shoot and was gracious enough to give me his card so I could download all 162 of his pictures. Any pictures with this post were taken by my brother-in-law.
There are actually one thousand eight hundred and some islands in the "Thousand Islands," but we didn't see anywhere that many. We got off the boat at Boldt Castle and then traveled by launch to an island with the Boldt Boat House on it, which was more impressive to me than the castle. Well, it had boats. The castle was started in about 1894 by George Boldt the former owner of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel and other companies. He was building it for his wife as a retreat for them when she suddenly died in 1904. He sent a telegram to immediately stop work on the castle and never returned there again. The castle fell into disrepair but was acquired by the Thousand Island Bridge Authority that is restoring it to the point of construction when Mrs. Boldt died. It is big and shows what kind of a house any of us super rich can have. The boathouse has doors big enough to allow a sailing vessel to sail right in with the mast still up.
It was fun boating along through the islands on the St. Lawrence River, especially being in Canadian waters for part of the ride. Since we weren't getting off the boat in Canada we didn't need passports. We passed a Canadian police boat and the men on board smiled and waved at us. We were also followed for a while by an apparently empty cargo ship heading East. Ships use the St. Lawrence to travel all the way to Michigan. The larger ships bypass Rochester because it doesn't have a deep enough port for them.
This year is the bicentennial of the War of 1812, which was a pretty big deal along the St. Lawrence and Lake Ontario. Every town is celebrating. After leaving Alexandria Bay we stayed overnight in Watertown.
The next morning we proceeded to Sackets Harbor and visited the 1812 Battlefield State Historic Site. We had a very nice tour of a commandant's house built around 1840. The plans had to be modified for the cold climate in upstate New York. At the time the Navy had one set of plans for one type of house for this rank of officer. It was a very nice house, but was designed for Virginia. Our state park guide was very interesting.
After our tour, we headed back along the Seaway Trail (Route 3 and Route 104) stopping at Kentucky Fried Chicken for lunch. Route 104 is a rather rural road with very little development along it, so it was somewhat of a surprise that in Williamson, about a half hour from home, we passed a fairly new Rolls Royce dealership. Less than a mile away was a Chevy dealership and not a whole lot else. Since we have been here I have not actually seen a Rolls automobile. I saw them back in New Jersey, but not here. Various magazines have rated this area very high for families and as a good value in a place to live. Maybe I should check my portfolio.
I had been looking for a 400 or 500 mm lens for my Nikon, but the prices for Nikon glass were really high, but as I was looking I discovered a new breed of point and shoot cameras with long lenses. You can't interchange lenses, but they cost about $400 to $500. dollars, much cheaper than a Nikon lens and, you get a whole camera for that price. I started by looking at a Nikon Coolpix, but figured that since lenses were not interchangeable, I didn't have to stick with Nikon. I settled on a Sony with a Carl Zeiss 28 to 820 mm f2.8-f 5.6 lens. It takes pictures, movies and I think it gets the coffee going in the morning. I also have an older Pentax waterproof point and shoot that also takes videos which also had its battery charged and was patiently waiting for its owner to remember to take it along. I got the Pentax several years ago for kayaking and canoeing and it works fine. It's very small and fits nicely in the breast pocket of my PFD (Personal Flotation Device), or my pant's pocket so it's nice to take along. It takes superb pictures and videos. It should go with me everywhere. The Sony is a little bulkier, a little smaller than my Nikon, but a whole lot lighter, but, it doesn't fit in my pocket.
Anyway, here we are on the boat tour and I don't have a camera. Fortunately, Andy brought his point and shoot and was gracious enough to give me his card so I could download all 162 of his pictures. Any pictures with this post were taken by my brother-in-law.
There are actually one thousand eight hundred and some islands in the "Thousand Islands," but we didn't see anywhere that many. We got off the boat at Boldt Castle and then traveled by launch to an island with the Boldt Boat House on it, which was more impressive to me than the castle. Well, it had boats. The castle was started in about 1894 by George Boldt the former owner of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel and other companies. He was building it for his wife as a retreat for them when she suddenly died in 1904. He sent a telegram to immediately stop work on the castle and never returned there again. The castle fell into disrepair but was acquired by the Thousand Island Bridge Authority that is restoring it to the point of construction when Mrs. Boldt died. It is big and shows what kind of a house any of us super rich can have. The boathouse has doors big enough to allow a sailing vessel to sail right in with the mast still up.
It was fun boating along through the islands on the St. Lawrence River, especially being in Canadian waters for part of the ride. Since we weren't getting off the boat in Canada we didn't need passports. We passed a Canadian police boat and the men on board smiled and waved at us. We were also followed for a while by an apparently empty cargo ship heading East. Ships use the St. Lawrence to travel all the way to Michigan. The larger ships bypass Rochester because it doesn't have a deep enough port for them.
This year is the bicentennial of the War of 1812, which was a pretty big deal along the St. Lawrence and Lake Ontario. Every town is celebrating. After leaving Alexandria Bay we stayed overnight in Watertown.
The next morning we proceeded to Sackets Harbor and visited the 1812 Battlefield State Historic Site. We had a very nice tour of a commandant's house built around 1840. The plans had to be modified for the cold climate in upstate New York. At the time the Navy had one set of plans for one type of house for this rank of officer. It was a very nice house, but was designed for Virginia. Our state park guide was very interesting.
After our tour, we headed back along the Seaway Trail (Route 3 and Route 104) stopping at Kentucky Fried Chicken for lunch. Route 104 is a rather rural road with very little development along it, so it was somewhat of a surprise that in Williamson, about a half hour from home, we passed a fairly new Rolls Royce dealership. Less than a mile away was a Chevy dealership and not a whole lot else. Since we have been here I have not actually seen a Rolls automobile. I saw them back in New Jersey, but not here. Various magazines have rated this area very high for families and as a good value in a place to live. Maybe I should check my portfolio.
Friday, July 13, 2012
Pultneyville, Sodus Point, Transitioning
We went for a hike, actually a few hikes, on Wednesday with Anne's brother Art and wife, Marian. Along the way we stopped at a little town called Pultneyville, right on Lake Ontario. I don't know if it's really a town because it is very small. I guess it's a small town. There is a quaint harbor which reminds one of New England. There is a creek running into the lake, a yacht club with many sailboats at their docks, a restaurant and an art gallery which we would like to visit sometime. It was closed when we were there and seems to be only open in the evenings. It is a peaceful little place.
Farther on up the road we came to Sodus Point, also on the lake, but a much larger harbor (Sodus Bay) and town, although it still fits into the category of small town. There is much boating activity there and we watched some pretty large sail boats coming off the lake in the afternoon. There is also a bathing beach. The beach is not as big as the ones in Rochester, but plenty big enough for local people to enjoy the water.
We have been doing a fair amount of recreation lately and that makes me think that maybe I have gotten to the point where I am finally transitioning from work mentality to retirement mentality. Recreation was reserved for weekends or vacations in the past. Weekends and some vacations were also used to accomplish chores and projects. Up to now retirement has been filled with buying a house with many trips to Rochester, selling our house in New Jersey with all that entailed and generally very little of what might be called "fun" activities. Has that now changed? Am I finally at a point where I think of what I can do to have some fun instead of what chores I have to do? We went to the beach twice so far this week. On Thursday to Ontario Beach and today to Durand Beach. Both experiences were very pleasant and relaxing. The beaches were clean, the water clear and 73 both days. There are an over abundance of life guards so there is no fear of drowning. There is really very little fear of drowning even without the guards because you can pretty much get you feet on the bottom even at the far end of the swimming areas. But, you can get up to your chest so there is no trouble swimming. Monday we had gone to Canadice Lake to help Anne's brother, Andy, test out a motor on a small aluminum boat. While there we met a group of kayakers who meet and go to a different location every Monday. We may join them this coming Monday.
There are still chores to be done and, of course, there always will be, but things seem to be more under control and the chores not as urgent. Anyway, I feel that the travails of buying and selling a house are behind us, this house is in good shape, I am still able to sit up and take nourishment, we are trying to eat healthier (okay, forget about going to Burger King several times a week for breakfast) and I feel that all of this swimming is helping me physically. Actually, Burger King is good for the social connections and camaraderie. Therefore, I believe that I can say that I am finally enjoying the fruits of retirement up here in Webster, NY, "Where Life is Worth Living."
Farther on up the road we came to Sodus Point, also on the lake, but a much larger harbor (Sodus Bay) and town, although it still fits into the category of small town. There is much boating activity there and we watched some pretty large sail boats coming off the lake in the afternoon. There is also a bathing beach. The beach is not as big as the ones in Rochester, but plenty big enough for local people to enjoy the water.
We have been doing a fair amount of recreation lately and that makes me think that maybe I have gotten to the point where I am finally transitioning from work mentality to retirement mentality. Recreation was reserved for weekends or vacations in the past. Weekends and some vacations were also used to accomplish chores and projects. Up to now retirement has been filled with buying a house with many trips to Rochester, selling our house in New Jersey with all that entailed and generally very little of what might be called "fun" activities. Has that now changed? Am I finally at a point where I think of what I can do to have some fun instead of what chores I have to do? We went to the beach twice so far this week. On Thursday to Ontario Beach and today to Durand Beach. Both experiences were very pleasant and relaxing. The beaches were clean, the water clear and 73 both days. There are an over abundance of life guards so there is no fear of drowning. There is really very little fear of drowning even without the guards because you can pretty much get you feet on the bottom even at the far end of the swimming areas. But, you can get up to your chest so there is no trouble swimming. Monday we had gone to Canadice Lake to help Anne's brother, Andy, test out a motor on a small aluminum boat. While there we met a group of kayakers who meet and go to a different location every Monday. We may join them this coming Monday.
There are still chores to be done and, of course, there always will be, but things seem to be more under control and the chores not as urgent. Anyway, I feel that the travails of buying and selling a house are behind us, this house is in good shape, I am still able to sit up and take nourishment, we are trying to eat healthier (okay, forget about going to Burger King several times a week for breakfast) and I feel that all of this swimming is helping me physically. Actually, Burger King is good for the social connections and camaraderie. Therefore, I believe that I can say that I am finally enjoying the fruits of retirement up here in Webster, NY, "Where Life is Worth Living."
Monday, July 2, 2012
Seabreeze and the Beach
Today is a Monday and on Mondays, Seniors can get into Seabreeze amusement part as spectators for free. Other days it cost $12.00 each for that privilege. The idea is that grandparents can accompany their grand kindred and still be able to afford to do so. Spectators can't enjoy the rides unless they pay $2.50 per ride. Anne hasn't been there in many years, so we went to look around.
Seabreeze was stared with a hotel built by a railroad company in 1886, a common practice for railroads at the time. They wanted people to have somewhere to go, so they created a place for them. The same happened on Long Island and New Jersey and many other places. The hotel was on the lake, but by 1903 an amusement park was added with the first ride being the Jack Rabbit, a roller coaster which still roller coasts today and is, in fact, the oldest continually operated roller coaster in America. It isn't quite as scary looking as some of today's giant coasters, but people looked like they were having fun on it. Seabreeze has grown over the years and has a variety of rides for all ages, a neat looking water park with several high rise rides, a wave pool, arcades and some live shows. There used to be a Natatorium (I'm not sue about the spelling, but it was a salt water pool - I remember the one that used to be in Asbury Park), but I guess in the depression, when people weren't amusing themselves in parks, it got too expensive to maintain and is now, sadly, under a nearby highway. The park has its own carousel with a genuine band organ, made in 1996, that is really neat as it plays drums, organ music, little chimes, etc. Somehow it runs on music rolls, similar to a player piano, although I'm not sure if the rolls are paper or some form of electronic program. Seabreeze isn't a big intimidating park, but it is big enough that people from the youngest children to adults could have a good time for most of the day. The park is attractive, clean and seems well maintained.The railroad people knew what they were doing in locating the park with a beautiful view overlooking Lake Ontario.
After Seabreeze and a hamburger at Bill Grey's, we went to Ontario Beach Park for swimming. We got a spot pretty close to the park and a spot on the beach very close to the water. No worry about tides here coming up and getting your stuff wet. I did notice this time and other times when we went to the beach that there is a serious absence of beach umbrellas. In fact, when you ask people about this they look at you funny and don't know what you mean by a beach umbrella. Seriously, though, I think the reason is because of the wind. There were a few umbrellas, but the breezes can be strong. The wind isn't strong enough to blow up the sand, but it does cause wavelets in the water with whitecaps. If you don't want to bake in the sun you can sit in the shade in the park and just walk a little bit more to get to the water. I used plenty of sunblock, so I felt safe on the beach, for a while anyway.
As I mentioned in my prior post, the beach patrol protection seems like overkill compared to the Jersey shore, especially since you can rarely get over your head. It is nice for small children who are able to wade out quite a ways. The guards keep a close watch on everything and don't tolerate any horseplay or floating devises that may carry a bather beyond a quick rescue. The wavelets that I mentioned are nothing like the waves in the ocean and don't have the power behind them, but you get some exercise swimming among them.
We watched sailboats and some motor boats coming into the lake and it was a very restful afternoon. Some people were being very creative in sculpting sand figures, one of a woman lying on her side with her head propped by her hand with her elbow in the sand. She had on a bikini, or not, I'm not quite sure. It took about twenty-five minutes to get back home. About eight minutes closer to home is Durand beach, part of Durand Eastman Park, also in the City of Rochester. This is a somewhat narrower strip of sand than Ontario Beach, but it is backed up by a row of trees and brush that separate it from a hill on which there is a parking area. The trees provide a nice area of shade right on the beach. They charge $3.00 per carload at Durand Beach and there are Porta-Potties as opposed to regular rest rooms and showers at Ontario Beach. Did I mention that there is no charge for parking or use of the beach at Ontario Beach Park.
The other day when we were at Ontario Beach Park we noticed a man roller skating. He was noticeable because he was about 70 or 80 years old and had on about as much clothes as the sand sculpture, which in his case was a mini Speedo. He was remarkable in his roller skating skills doing quick turns, little jumps and everything. Anne and Marian wanted me to take a picture of him, but I just couldn't bring myself to think of looking at a picture of him on my computer. Turns out, he was there again today and had parked right next to us. He was just finishing and getting in his car as we returned from the beach. I didn't take a picture today either. In fact, I didn't bring my camera today thinking it was just something else to carry. Maybe I should bring one in the future. Hey, you never know.
Seabreeze was stared with a hotel built by a railroad company in 1886, a common practice for railroads at the time. They wanted people to have somewhere to go, so they created a place for them. The same happened on Long Island and New Jersey and many other places. The hotel was on the lake, but by 1903 an amusement park was added with the first ride being the Jack Rabbit, a roller coaster which still roller coasts today and is, in fact, the oldest continually operated roller coaster in America. It isn't quite as scary looking as some of today's giant coasters, but people looked like they were having fun on it. Seabreeze has grown over the years and has a variety of rides for all ages, a neat looking water park with several high rise rides, a wave pool, arcades and some live shows. There used to be a Natatorium (I'm not sue about the spelling, but it was a salt water pool - I remember the one that used to be in Asbury Park), but I guess in the depression, when people weren't amusing themselves in parks, it got too expensive to maintain and is now, sadly, under a nearby highway. The park has its own carousel with a genuine band organ, made in 1996, that is really neat as it plays drums, organ music, little chimes, etc. Somehow it runs on music rolls, similar to a player piano, although I'm not sure if the rolls are paper or some form of electronic program. Seabreeze isn't a big intimidating park, but it is big enough that people from the youngest children to adults could have a good time for most of the day. The park is attractive, clean and seems well maintained.The railroad people knew what they were doing in locating the park with a beautiful view overlooking Lake Ontario.
After Seabreeze and a hamburger at Bill Grey's, we went to Ontario Beach Park for swimming. We got a spot pretty close to the park and a spot on the beach very close to the water. No worry about tides here coming up and getting your stuff wet. I did notice this time and other times when we went to the beach that there is a serious absence of beach umbrellas. In fact, when you ask people about this they look at you funny and don't know what you mean by a beach umbrella. Seriously, though, I think the reason is because of the wind. There were a few umbrellas, but the breezes can be strong. The wind isn't strong enough to blow up the sand, but it does cause wavelets in the water with whitecaps. If you don't want to bake in the sun you can sit in the shade in the park and just walk a little bit more to get to the water. I used plenty of sunblock, so I felt safe on the beach, for a while anyway.
As I mentioned in my prior post, the beach patrol protection seems like overkill compared to the Jersey shore, especially since you can rarely get over your head. It is nice for small children who are able to wade out quite a ways. The guards keep a close watch on everything and don't tolerate any horseplay or floating devises that may carry a bather beyond a quick rescue. The wavelets that I mentioned are nothing like the waves in the ocean and don't have the power behind them, but you get some exercise swimming among them.
We watched sailboats and some motor boats coming into the lake and it was a very restful afternoon. Some people were being very creative in sculpting sand figures, one of a woman lying on her side with her head propped by her hand with her elbow in the sand. She had on a bikini, or not, I'm not quite sure. It took about twenty-five minutes to get back home. About eight minutes closer to home is Durand beach, part of Durand Eastman Park, also in the City of Rochester. This is a somewhat narrower strip of sand than Ontario Beach, but it is backed up by a row of trees and brush that separate it from a hill on which there is a parking area. The trees provide a nice area of shade right on the beach. They charge $3.00 per carload at Durand Beach and there are Porta-Potties as opposed to regular rest rooms and showers at Ontario Beach. Did I mention that there is no charge for parking or use of the beach at Ontario Beach Park.
The other day when we were at Ontario Beach Park we noticed a man roller skating. He was noticeable because he was about 70 or 80 years old and had on about as much clothes as the sand sculpture, which in his case was a mini Speedo. He was remarkable in his roller skating skills doing quick turns, little jumps and everything. Anne and Marian wanted me to take a picture of him, but I just couldn't bring myself to think of looking at a picture of him on my computer. Turns out, he was there again today and had parked right next to us. He was just finishing and getting in his car as we returned from the beach. I didn't take a picture today either. In fact, I didn't bring my camera today thinking it was just something else to carry. Maybe I should bring one in the future. Hey, you never know.
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