Heading South

Brain cancer is...

...flirting with the notion of home.

We enjoyed one more morning in Cambria and then appreciated California's beauty southward.  We are decompressing slowly with one more night--this one in Oxnard--before we head home.


Here's today's video slideshow. 


We hope your Friday night is so enjoyable that you don't see this post until the work week!

Oh, Cambria!

Brain cancer is...

...maybe not coming home.

Here's the video link for today's ocean adventures.


May you live your day in the guise of your chosen sea creature.

Otter Logic

Brain cancer is...

...subscribing to Otter Logic.

We spent the morning watching the sea otters play right off our balcony.

When we checked out, the attendant said that those otters spend their days with three goals in mind: Eat, Sleep, Play. We decided that we are aspiring otters.  Eat, sleep, play.

We would have been sad at checkout if we were not headed to Cambria.

But first: Lunch on the way. We found the King City Cork and Plough online and spent three great hours enjoying things like jalapeño burgers and homemade ketchup.

We also stopped by the Visitors Center, where we learned this cool fact: We were standing about 30 minutes from the entrance of the newest National Park: The Pinnacles. We definitely want to go back.

We walked the main street and then got back on the 101 en route to the next adventure: Fog Catcher at Cambria. And then we had an amazing set of views on the 46.

Here are two initial Cambria glimpses.

Dinner at the Sea Chest was incredible.  The tradition is to make friends by the fire pit while you wait for a table.

Happy Wednesday, friend otters.

Monterey? Yea!

Brain cancer is...

MontereyAdventures: Video Link

...living large in Monterey.

As today's slideshow indicates, highlights of the day include:

• Complimentary breakfast en suite.
• Monterey Bay Aquarium awesomeness.
• Bubba Gump's for lunch (Rats! Forgot to include the photos.)
• John Steinbeck walking tour (Crazy cool local history and heartache.)
• Wine tasting of Monterey wines....in paradise.
• Dinner at the Chart House.
• Fire pit finale.

Info bit: Gail liked learning that a group of cormorants can be called a gulp. We wonder if she saw, too, the big gulp in our video yesterday. Need more animal group names?  Check Gail's link here.

What is Tuesday like elsewhere? No, wait, don't tell us.

Hey, Monterey!

Brain cancer is...

Santa Barbara to Monterey: the video.

...wide-eyed with wonder of California.

We spent the day taking in California's varied vistas as we headed to our northernmost stop: Monterey.








Photo Credits:  Many photos on this trip are by Guest Photographer Beth Szabo.

SB: So Beautiful, Santa Barbara!

Brain cancer is...

Santa Barbara video link

...not complaining about life in Santa Barbara.

The weather was perfect, and so was the day. 

Road Trip!

Update 3/26/17 5:15 pm:  Images added.

Brain cancer is...

...launching the "Cruising California's Coast" trip.

Spring break 2017!* We are cruising up the coast with Beth and Geoff for a week of beach city fun.  Above: The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single breakfast burrito.  First stop? Santa Barbara!

A room with a View (capital V)

Off Stearns Warf

Happy Saturday!

*We realize that neither Darrell nor I is working now so it is not technically a "break," but we've never had the same spring break. Also, Beth is on spring break.

So Cal? So Nice!

Brain cancer is...

...enjoying some beautiful weather.

After our wild train adventure yesterday, we appreciated a day holding still in sunny spring Glendora with Gordon and then LuAnn.

Gordon the gym rat is featured front and center on this advertisement for his fitness center.

If that's not enough to get us all exercising more, listen to this: Gordon will celebrate his 90th birthday in May, and today he shared his recent blood work results with us. All of his results were in the normal range! Not one thing elevated? Who does that? Blood of gold!  Of course we told him to stick his results on the fridge to celebrate.

Friday cheers!

Lunch Date

Brain cancer is...

Lunch in Goleta with Nancy and Greg: Video link

...sticking with commitments to fun.

Today we committed 12 hours--to lunch.

One of the best things about brain cancer has been sorting out priorities and spending time with people we love. We left for Goleta at 8 this morning and will arrive home more than 14 hours later when the Amtrak Surfliner gets us back to Fullerton. The middle 4 hours spent with Greg and Nancy? Perfect!

The way south is full of adventures! Our engine died in Moorpark. In LA we will find a new train.

 Another great thing about brain cancer travels? Rather than asking, "How fast can we get home?" We ask, "What's next?"

We can't imagine much better, Friends. 

Spring Has Sprung

Brain cancer is...

St. Patrick's Day Reveal:  Alternate Video Link

...enjoying spring's offerings.

Above is the video where our eleven lovable leprechauns reveal their identities.  Their leprechaun avatars do not do them justice, except for the sunny smiles.  What fun we've had with our St. Paddy's day treats!  Thanks so much, leprechauns.

Our home is cheered with many spring bouquets.

This one is from Loma Linda's Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, sent to Tiana at her California address to welcome her to the department.  How sweet!

 These are from Denise for cheery purposes.  They work!

  And these are from Gail and  Melanie to celebrate chemo's end.

Spring may be brand new, but it's blooming in full force here.

We hope your day is equally lovely.

Same Garden, Different Lenses

Brain cancer is...

 ...enjoying California gardens...at a slant.

Fun fact:  California is the most biologically diverse state in the nation, and it's a biodiversity hotspot for the entire world.

Today we did our walk at Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden, which is home to many, many of those incredible native California species.  It's also where LuAnn volunteered for many years past retirement. 

One visit, two experiences.

Andi's experience:  A beautiful respite.

 Andi's Alternate Video Link

Darrell's experience:  An unfolding adventure.

Darrell's Alternate Video Link

Choose your own moral to today's story:

1. Paradise is outside your front door.
2. Travelers' eyes keep the "familiar strange" and wonderful.
3. Two perspectives are better than one.
4. Always take Darrell on a new garden walk with you.

Date Night

Brain cancer is...

...feeling pretty satisfied with our date night record.

Tonight was our monthly date night with Melanie and Gail.  It's working for us to set dates way in advance of each month's dinner.  Date night never fails to include hours of great conversation, stories and laughs. We emptied the place! If you haven't tried it yet, Date night is a PWRH [Practice We Highly Recommend].

See what you think and get back to us.  

You're Coming with Us!

Brain cancer is...

 

..taking you for a walk.

If you've read a couple of our posts, you know that Darrell and I find both solace and joy in our daily walks. So now you're coming with us!

It started when I recently read an article about walkers who intentionally take on some larger purpose for their daily strolls.  The article introduced us to a free app, Charity Miles.  With this app, sponsors like Johnson & Johnson and Chobani fund the user to walk ($0.25 per mile) or bicycle ($0.10 per mile) for the user's chosen charity.  I checked it out.  It's legit, as discussed in this review.  A daily five-mile walk generates, then, $1.25 of a company's money for a chosen cause.  I downloaded the app.

We decided to walk for a specific Team D member every day.  When we scroll through the charities, we find connections with so many Team D members.  We decided to start with cancer and branch out.  We are, first, walking for Team D members who are in active treatment for their cancer.  Then we'll branch out to members whose lives are significantly affected by cancer (such as past treatment or family member cases).  Then we will move on to the other incredibly worthy issues team members face. 

So...it started with Charity Miles, but it feels more personal than that now.  Every day, before we take our first step at the park, I launch the app. I choose Stand Up to Cancer.  More importantly, we name the person for whom we are walking that day.  We think nice thoughts about you, and we wish every good thing for you. 

We started a few days before the trip to Allentown, but now we plan to text or email you when we walk for you. If you need us walking for you more immediately, let us know.

Thanks for being open to this new form of connection.  Come on!  Let's go!

Bonus Content

Because leprechauns give gifts that last for days.

Leading the Way [Back] to CA

Brain cancer is...

...leading the family back home to So Cal.

We enjoyed a final morning walk in Allentown:

Then we spent the day amongst the clouds:

We arrived home to leprechaun shenanigans:

Alex and Tiana:  Here's what you have to look forward to:

 

 Could it get any better?

Thanks, everyone, for participating in the March Match Madness. Alex and Tiana felt very well loved by Team D.  So do we all. You're the best!

Loma Linda

Brain cancer is...
...celebrating Loma Linda.

The video

Alex and Tiana matched at Loma Linda.
They are very happy. Heading home!

We'll post more after the day's festivities!

Update: 3/18/17: Match Day: The Video slideshow of the day

Allentown Adventure

Brain cancer is...

Allentown Adventure video 

...enjoying Allentown.

We spent a pleasant day enjoying Allentown and family. We had enough fun that we didn't even have to think much about The Big Day.

We hope you had a pleasant Thursday too.

Emmaus here we come!

Update: 11:29 pm Eastern: the individual photos mentioned below are compiled in this slideshow video.

Brain cancer is...

[Virtual image for later: Darrell in long pants. Weird!]

...on the move! 

6:17 am Pacific Time:  Boarded a full flight and expecting on time departure to Atlanta.

7:23 am Pacific Time: All departures shut down due to fog. Waiting for it to burn off. Now THIS is the travel experience we are accustomed to!

3:02 pm Eastern Time: We left Orange County within 20 minutes of fog call and arrived on time to make our connection. Waiting at the gate. Shows as on time departure.

[Virtual image for later: Selfie with Louis, the operations manager of Hawthorn School District. We had a great conversation. Thanks, Louis!]

6:13 pm Eastern Time: We took off from ATL on time and landed at ABE on time. Yippee! Currently sitting on the tarmac, apparently doing important cold weather things like de icing planes. Darrell's feeling done with the flight.

[Virtual image for later: snowy stuff.]

Alex and Tiana are waiting nearby.

8:54 pm Eastern Time:   We are home safe and sound with A & T.  We walked Beowulf in the snow, gave  cheers to celebrate match and being together, and we enjoyed a great Irish meal of corned beef and potatoes and carrots.

[Virtual image for later:  Great times together in Allentown, Evening 1.]

Thanks for hanging with us!  We hope you had a great day!

General Maintenance

Brain cancer is...

...occupying expensive real estate on the top floor, but other floors need maintenance too.

We started our day with a visit to our General Practitioner, Dr. Asif, for Darrell's routine blood work and a check up.  Good for you, Darrell, for maintaining the rest of the building, even when the top floor demands so much attention!

The picture, above, shows cholesterol results as high.  The values are actually borderline, but Darrell will resume the low dose of cholesterol medication that he discontinued to go on the steroids so long ago.

Oh, and remember how Darrell wanted to be cleared of any potential colon cancer risk, but he can't have a colonoscopy for a while, until a few months after treatment?   Our doctor prescribed the fecal occult blood test for him until he can have the colonoscopy.  Great idea, Dr. Asif.

Darrell hopes, by sharing his results with the team, he'll encourage us all to keep up with our general maintenance.   Thanks, Big D., for the encouragement!

Travel Update

Hallie and Ruth provided a fun send-off lunch/coffee/shopping expedition.

My cute new tops are in our suitcases, which are all packed and by the door.

We are scheduled to take off at 6:45 a.m. and, after a layover, land in Allentown, PA at about 6:30 p.m.  You probably are aware of the snowstorms in the East.  My mom hypothesizes that Darrell and I bring about wild weather with our travel plans.  She may be right.  Here's to what promises to be an adventurous day of travel!

Happy Pi Day!

Magically Delicious!

Brain cancer is...

...definitely shrinking!

Today was such a great day that it's only 9:24 a.m. and we think we'll call it a day and go back to bed.  

When the day starts with Terri's leprechaun sighting, you can't help but feel hopeful.

When, as you are walking to the Cancer Center, your son and daughter-in-law send you a text like this:

 

You can't help but dance a jig on Westwood Blvd.  Or at least throw your kids a thumbs' up.

We won't know where they match until Friday, 3/17, but the stress of not matching is behind them. Whoo Whoo! They're going somewhere!

Next, when Dr. Cloughesy clearly demonstrates a lack of contrast between January's and March's scans, you can finally start to believe the good news.

Compare image 1 with 4 (this month's scan).  Hard to find anything!

Here is an anniversary shot of Darrell, NP Wong, and Dr. Cloughesy.   

Dr. Cloughesy says no clear body of evidence suggests any further medications or course of treatment when Darrell finishes chemo this Wednesday.  Instead, he suggests we keep on dancing.

On the way back to Tiverton House, Darrell asked, "Why me?"  I say, "Well, Darrell, why the heck not you?"

Thanks, everyone, for being there!

(Update:  Images inserted 3/13 1:35 p.m.)

Tucked in at Tiverton

Brain cancer is...

 ...tucked in at UCLA's Tiverton House.

We arrived at UCLA early enough today that we could enjoy their Arboretum.  It's lovely.






Man of Mystery

Darrell's Choice

Darrell's appointment with Dr. Cloughesy tomorrow is at 8:30 a.m.  The main agenda items are to confirm that the March scan is clear and to ask Dr. Cloughesy to continue seeing Darrell every other month.


Thinking of you this Sunday evening.

Where There's a Will...There's Array

Brain cancer is...

...hurting Darrell's scalp.

Actually, the Optune electrical field generators (the "coins," above) are making Darrell's scalp sore. So far it's been enough to just shift the arrays when we change them.  However, Darrell has just started getting more sore spots.  You may see them, above, in the cut outs.  

It was time for a new array pun anyway.  With our will to keep Darrell's compliance rate high, we came up with a new way to address the sore spots.  Now I am using neosporin immediately, shifting the coins, and--my biggest plan--cutting out the area of bandage that would cover the sores in order to let the sores heal.  You know what they say:  Where there's a will, there's array.

Today has been wonderfully relaxed.

Some thanks today to Team D members

• Thanks, Michelle and family, for another inspirational card.
• Thanks, Brady and Curt, for the laughs.
• Thanks, Gail, for encouraging us to think about resilience.
• Thanks, Meridyth, for understanding.
• Thanks, Denise, for your company, roses, and burritos!
• Thanks, Mother Nature, for great sunsets.

Not a bad Saturday here!  Hope the same is true for you and your Saturday.

Still Dancing

Brain cancer is...

...still celebrating.

When we told you that we celebrate the little things in life, we forgot to say that we celebrate them far beyond their natural lifespan. Here's why we are still happy dancing today:

• Dr. Park confirmed that the scan looks good.
• Darrell's blood counts are good enough to start the final chemo round.
• Dr. Park gave Darrell permission to start chemo two days early so that his last dose will be on Wednesday night...when we arrive in Pennsylvania. That way Darrell will complete chemo before Match Day.
• When we ordered new Optune arrays for the trip, we also ordered new scissors, used for trimming the excess bandaging from the arrays.  There's nothing much better than a sharp pair of scissors!
• The next scan isn't until May.

Closing thoughts

Retired engineering profs don't stop engineering; they just apply their skills in new ventures, such as designing endearing fruit people. 

Andi's attempt

Darrell's improved design

Happy Friday! Keep dancing!

The Parent Trap

Brain cancer is...

...no impediment to Darrell trapping our parents.

Above, we sit parked in our locked car.  Darrell wouldn't let LuAnn out until their critical negotiations reached a mutually satisfactory resolution.  It didn't take that long, and everyone got out of the car happy.

Earlier, we trapped Gordon too.

We worked on our taxes together.

We are so grateful for every laugh we share with our parents.  Thanks Gordon.  Thanks Lu Ann. We love you!

The Dynamic Duo: Darrell's Half

Brain cancer is...

...not stripping Darrell of his Dynamic Duo responsibilities.

I am a high maintenance teacher.  My lessons always seem to require extensive preparation, and Darrell has always been right there, taping things down, cutting things up, and stuffing things in bags.

Preparation for today's lesson was no exception.  Former student, current friend, and third-grade teacher extraordinaire, Sammie Sanchez, invited me in for a guest lesson on mealworms.  

During my last-minute preparations last night, at precisely 7:50 p.m., I discovered that my live mealworms were...extremely sleepy.  Darrell looked across the table at me and said, "Road trip!"

Anaheim Feed closes at 8:00 p.m.  Darrell hit the gas and started belting out the James Bond chase scene music.    No giant mealworms at Anaheim Feed!  We screeched out of the parking lot and had success at PetSmart.

Giant mealworm completion! This morning Darrell rose with me at 6, fed me coffee and breakfast, and saw me out (see pic, above); ever the man of mystery!

The third graders did great work as scientists and artists, and Sammie and I ended the day happy we spent it together.

Your work is done here, Captain Darrell.  Until next time!