My Travel Partner Traveled Without Me

 My husband took a final adventure to a place I could not tag along. He crossed the veil into spirit. It has been a year since he left me and I missed him so much that I basically sat still and did nothing for the entire year. Small outing with friends (kayaking, lunch/dinner) but the grief really stymied me. But I decided that I couldn’t (and shouldn’t) do that anymore. Vince would be upset at me for not grabbing life by the neck and living it fully. So, we are still the Travelin Dennens….but my new sidekick is my cat, Rudy (who you know from previous posts). I know Vince is still with me too. We are embarking on a trip from Florida to Cape Cod in a car jam packed with everything and a cat and we will be there for nearly 3 months. It’s going to be grand. So, follow our journey!  We’d live to share it with you. 

NOLA, Baby!

I can't believe how long it has been since I wrote here.  It's been a long, weird ride, my friends, between the last time I've posted here and now.  It is now 2018 and I have spent a few years plagued by depression and anxiety.  This year in particular it seems it's a front and center topic; and If you suffer, I want you to know you are not alone.  I do, too.  I know these are not unique feelings and many people go through them, some better than others. I've had to reserve all of my inner fortitude for things like care taking and working.  Anything beyond that was just not in the scope of possibility for me.  Doing things I love doing was even too much for me....and that made me even sadder.  No art, no photography, no blogging.... just existing was kind of hard for me.  My father had dementia which got increasingly worse until he passed away from a broken hip he received in a nursing home, the one place I NEVER wanted my father to be, he had to go to.... and they neglected him and he fell.  There is nothing good in death; but if I had to find something, that would be that my father is no longer haunted by delusions and hallucinations, that he is no longer frightened and anxious; he is no longer worrying that everyone around him is out to get him in one way or another.  That he is with people he loves and who love him; people like my mother.  I miss him every day; but I have hope that things are better for him now than they were when he was so sick.  At the same time, my beloved traveling partner and husband was diagnosed with a heart condition that is both rare and very debilitating.... constructive pericarditis...on top of the other heart issues he has had.... and we have needed the time to work on ways to make him better that didn't involve invasive open heart surgery or life threatening procedures.  The doctors weren't helping and I was left alone to research and try things that didn't require a doctor to make it happen.  I believe I was somewhat successful.  I got his ejection fraction rate to improve and I got his atrial fibrillation to actually stop.  It has been stopped for a year now....and I'm hoping for good.  I've worked hard to get him where he feels good and like traveling.  I also retired from teaching this year after 27 years on the job.... so I could focus on my husband more and so WE could get back to traveling and having fun together. and so I could return to my art roots....SO that leads us HERE.  The first trip Vincent suggested taking was to New Orleans.  We had visited here in 2011 and fell in love with it all.  The sights, smells, sounds, tastes, the people.... and we wanted to return... so what better way to celebrate 18 years of marriage than with a "honeymoon" trip to New Orleans?  We found a terrific place to stay that is close to downtown, great eateries and fun excursions...that is owned and run by phenomenal people.  The place is pet and family friendly as well.  It is called the "Casita Cote" and it's located on Pocahontas Street.  It ha a generous bedroom, living room,, kitchen, dining areas, bathroom, enclosed back yard with a patio...and a laundry room.  Genene and David Cote are the owners.  Here is their site; http://www.casitacote.com/home.html   We arrived in NOLA on our anniversary day; June 24th. We WERE going to go out to a big dinner; but we were both just so tired... we decided to celebrate our anniversary on Tuesday instead.  We were directed by our hosts to an amazing place not far from where we were that didn't require us to change clothes or look impressive; which was a blessing.  It is an amazing space that allows upcoming chefs to wow the community with their culinary acumen...and it was impressive!  A plethora of different fare is served up daily from breakfast to dinner and everything in-between.  I chose hibiscus and rosewater tea and and baba ganoush from Torshi a restaurant that allows you to "Eat Like an  Egyptian". I ate a spicy, heavenly catfish PoBoy sandwich from Elysian Seafood that also served up scrumptious cajun seafood.  Vincent opted for some NOLA style chicken from The Good Bird.  He had a 1/4 of a chicken special  and it came with a salad and purple slaw.  We had artistic desserts from a dessert bar called Bittersweet Confections.  My mocha mousse came in an edible chocolate coffee cup.  Such a great spot.  Think indoor fancy food truck alley.  Everything from Mexican, Caribbean fusion, to Cajun and NOLA favorites.  We can't wait to go back.  It's called St. Roch Market; you can check them out here: https://www.strochmarket.com  This morning we headed out to a place called Pontilly Coffee.  A warm and friendly spot that serves the most amazing food and coffee.  You can't go wrong there... check them out here: http://pontillycoffee.com  We went shopping for some snacks and supplies and relaxed for the rest of the day and night.  Tomorrow we have more adventures planned...so stay tuned!

Oh, it's been a while.  A long while.  You what they say about having fun?  Well, not only does time fly, but it leaves you in the dust as well, apparently.  We have essentially blown by our ten day stat at Long Key State Park; and we are writing this from Key Largo at John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park.... so we are a bit behind... but we think you'll understand why in a minute.  Long Key State Park was more breath taking and amazing that our wildest dreams.  If you love being close to the beach.... actually snuggled up with the waves lapping on the shoreline.... you'd love being at the place.  We pulled in and had 360 degree views of the ocean.

This is the view from the left of the RV.

This is the front on view

The view from the right

View from the kitchen

View from the "living room"

View from the drivers side

View from the middle of the front window

View from the passenger side

View from the "dining room"

View from the bedroom

We could walk out of the RV and step into the water.  Cheri went snorkeling and kayaking every day.... never needed to drive anywhere to do that, either.  Hours of underwater study.  Hours of peaceful, serene floating on calm, turquoise waters.  It just doesn't get any better than that.

Kayaking cat!

Cheri spent so much time underwater that she learned how to locate the spiny lobsters purely on sound and was 100% correct each time.  Listening to and following the sounds of snaps and cracks in the water lead to finding them easily.  These lobsters do not have the same massive front claws of the Maine lobsters so all they can effectively do to "scare you off" is wave their feelers at you, hide deeper in whatever crevasse they are in, or swim like hell away from you.  They were fun to photograph and visit.

Well, it's getting late and we are sitting at the concession office in our car for wifi..... because we have not had good luck with our personal device.  There are gremlins that live inside the box and eat the data bits faster than we actually use them..... but we will be back to show you more of long key, chat a little more about what we saw..... and show you what the new place is like!  Thank you for stopping by~!  Light and love to you all.