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On Veterans Day, we decided to check out Washington Park’s Oregon Vietnam Veterans Living Memorial. Located between the Zoo and the Arboretum Visitor’s Center, we’ve passed it many times but, until yesterday, never took the time to stop. Erected in the Hoyt Arboretum section of the park, in 1987, the Memorial covers 8 acres designed Read more
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A story was recently passed on to me, by a friend with Holland America Lines, about a 106-year-old woman on a 28-day cruise to Alaska and Hawaii. That fact, by itself, is just amazing, but her story is even more incredible. Alice Darrow, a Navy nurse, met her husband, Dean, at Mare Island Navy Hospital in California. Dean was injured Read more
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We love the weirdness of Portland, but the weather is crazy weird. Summers are dry and sunny, and temps are usually in the low 80’s with really low humidity. Step into the shade and it feels like a 10 degree drop. But, every once in awhile we get a “heat dome” that drives the temps Read more
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After a five year hiatus, honestly due to laziness, I’ve decided to resurrect my blog, changing the name to Forever Young but Getting Old in Portland. Two years ago, my husband, Charlie, and I sold everything, shipped a few boxes of necessities, and moved cross country from Florida to Portland, Oregon. We’ve never regretted a Read more
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So sorry I mistakenly sent out a link to a depression blog on this site – I hit the wrong button when meaning to share another’s post via Tweet – wound up on my site – I deleted it but not before email notifications were sent out – my apologies! Read more
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Source: Tijuana Flats…not just good food but good people Read more
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Follow my blog with Bloglovin Finally, getting to Chapter 2 of our summer trip out West…we left Washington DC before dawn, heading to Portland, Oregon, to meet up with an old grammar and high school classmate, Bob Burgan. Bob and Mary extended an invitation to stay with them a couple of nights at their beach Read more
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Last month’s trip was full of “holy shit!” moments. From beginning to end, the two weeks was chock full of eye-opening events and scenery. Our first leg took us to the 38th Annual National Society of Newspaper Columnists Conference in Washington, DC. It was my fifth year of attending and I wasn’t disappointed. Arriving a Read more
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Getting ready for a big trip in a few weeks, been trying to get into shape. Since moving back to downtown Orlando we have no excuse to lazily while away the summer. Charlie can’t run because of a torn Achilles tendon but our local Y provides a ton of other opportunities to get in a Read more
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Check out my latest Hypeorlando post and see where AARP thinks I should travel. Making sure my passport is up to date! Read more
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A little over a year ago our friends and neighbors, the Smiths, opened a bed and breakfast in New Smyrna Beach overlooking the Indian River. The opening was the result of a multi-year production involving the renovation of a beautiful old home, retaining the ambience and historical importance of the residence. We were blown away Read more
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Another entry into the hypeOrlando blog community…Seizures ain’t pretty from Forever Young but Growing Old. Hope you’ll stop by and leave a comment. One of these days we’ll be back on the road and I’ll have travel stuff to add here. For the time being we are still getting adjusted to our move back to Read more
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Check out my latest piece in Hypeorlando…Forever Young but Growing Old Read more
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There’s a new blog community in town called hypeorlando – a product of the Orlando Sentinel – and my blog Forever Young but Growing Old is included. This is an exciting opportunity to expand into other areas and reach more people with my musings…hope that’s a good thing. Hypeorlando is loaded with talented bloggers covering Read more
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Having grown up in Orlando before the city was just a glimmer in the eye of Walt Disney, my parents would take family and friends visiting from the North to Lake Eola, in the heart of downtown. The lake’s green-domed fountain was a favorite of visitors and locals alike. A nighttime drive-by provided a colorful Read more
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After a multi-year hiatus, the Orlando Sentinel has decided to publish a My Word column at last…here’s the link “Orlando indeed incomparable to others”. Here’s the unedited version… Beth Kassab’s column about the best “other” downtown reinforced my feeling that Orlando is THE best downtown around. Having just returned, after a seven year “retirement” in Read more
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After seven years of “sort of” retiring to New Smyrna Beach, we have decided it is time to rejoin the living and move back to O-town. Not that beachside living is the place people go to die…it’s just that making a vacation town your full time residence is a bit isolating in terms of diversity. Read more
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Living in Central Florida all our lives, we are very familiar with the St. Augustine School Field Trip. As a student, myself, I was bussed to the oldest city in the U.S. as part of my eighth grade trip, circa 1962, to see the Cross and Sword, which later was designated as the official Florida Read more
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On our way today to the St. Francis Inn, an historic bed and breakfast in St. Augustine. We’re looking forward to three days of fun, food, history, food, ghost tales, and more food! Previous trips to this old city were with children or grandchildren in tow but this time we are on our own and Read more
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A walk on the north bridge across the intracoastal waterway in New Smyrna Beach today afforded an amazing sight of migrating jellyfish. My research came up with the names Moon Jellys and Cannonball Jellyfish. The Moons look like huge, graceful, translucent discs with a pink petal-like formation in the middle. The Cannonballs reminded me of Read more
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Aren’t sharks bad enough? Now we have to worry about rattlesnakes? Check out this report on WFTV – how surreal it must have been to look over and see this huge snake surfing back to the shore. Our seven year vacation in New Smyrna Beach is coming to an end as we prepare to move Read more
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What’s a grandma to do when charged with the care of 7 and 8 year old grandsons for a month in the summer? This kind of challenge might empty one’s wallet if the plans include visits to theme parks in the area, not to mention the pain of dealing with massive crowds and oppressive heat. Read more
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Black Dolphin Inn earns BedandBreakfast.com Top Ten Award. Read more
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BedandBreakfast.com recently named the Black Dolphin Inn, New Smyrna Beach, FL, among their 2013 Top Ten Beach B&B’s. Sharing the list are Inns throughout the United States, Canada, France and Mexico…quite a big deal for our little seaside town. Having just opened in February of 2013, this award arrives on the heels of The Guardian’s Read more
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Detroit, Macon, Hartford, Bloomington, Indiana…do these cities come to mind when planning a summer vacation? Probably not on your bucket list, nor were they on mine. However, my eyes were opened to the wonders of these towns while attending annual conferences of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists (NSNC), a gathering of gifted and enthusiastic Read more
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Our wonderful month in Switzerland is described in the latest AAA TravelViews – the temps here in Florida make me yearn for that cool, crisp mountain air! Read more
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Oh, wow, so psyched to be have an article on the AAA TravelViews blog. They have me listed as a “Contributor”. It’s a cool travel blog and I’m so stoked to be part of it!! Read more
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Travel bloggers might take for granted their home base and not think to write about the place in which they are most familiar. It occurred to me this morning, while walking the beach, that writing about European travels is exciting but I would be remiss to ignore the jewel that is New Smyrna Beach, my Read more
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Too Cold Toronto. Read more
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The next leg of our Canadian journey would take us to Toronto via bus and train. The transportation center was just a half mile walk from the Niagara Falls Doubletree, which we gingerly took through snow which had accumulated that morning. The cost of our two-hour trip was only eight dollars and change as we Read more
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Sorry, my comments on Toronto haven’t made it to the blog yet…making a quick trip to Panama City to visit our son for a few days. Seeing as how it is spring break here, we decided not to stay in our favorite place on the beach, to avoid all the craziness. So, we chose a Read more
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Every time we head north on a winter holiday and tell people we are from Florida, they look at us and ask “Why?!?” Finally, we are asking ourselves the same question after a week spent in Niagara Falls and Toronto, Ontario, in sub-freezing temperatures. The sights were worth the trip but we have sworn off Read more
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As long as Charlie doesn’t catch the God-awful stomach virus I had this week, we’ll be heading up to Niagara Falls and Toronto on Monday. Let’s hope that sleeping in another bedroom did the trick and the bug didn’t find its way into his tummy. For the first time ever we are flying out of Read more
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Over the weekend we celebrated our eight year old grandson’s birthday with a road trip to Nickelodeon Resorts & Suites. The Friday afternoon traffic through Orlando on I-4 reminded us why we choose not to go out that way unless we really have to. Bumper to bumper for no apparent reason, it always amazes me Read more
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Just got back from a long Holiday trip and already ready for a short getaway. Methinks we got bit by the travel bug and we’ve turned into junket junkies. Gma and Gpa duties will suspend during the second week of March, for Spring break, and we were thinking of a restful, warm cruise but just Read more
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Traveling as a “Boomer” Today’s New York Times piece, In Travel, We’re All Boomers Now, we see yet another take on Baby Boomers…I’m getting a bit bored with the term, which groups those of us born between the years 1946 and 1964. A lot of us from that generation do not want to age (self included) Read more
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Please check out the “Epilepsy” tab of this blog…it will give you info about the upcoming fundraiser walk for the Epilepsy Foundation of Florida…a cause close to my heart as our daughter, Alison, is on meds for grand mal seizures as a result of brain surgery when she was 11 years old. Anyone out there Read more
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One of the many perks of home exchange is the aspect of living like a native in a foreign country. In most cases, the neighbors are as interested in us as we are in them. In Vermont we were looked at as those crazy people who left a Florida winter for two months in the Read more
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Our last week in Switzerland and still so much to see. Last week we checked out Montreux and the Chateau Chillon. Very interesting stories surrounding these castles/forts…and dating back to the times of Game of Thrones. Difficult to imagine living in these freezing, stone fortresses. They must have had fires burning all over the structure, Read more
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On our way to Paris, flying out of Geneva…it was a bit disconcerting that no one asked us for our passport or an ID of any kind on the flights from Geneva to Paris and Paris to Geneva…we printed out our boarding pass at a kiosk in the airport, where all we needed was our Read more
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Took a bit of a break from the blog as I picked up a stomach bug and been under the weather, ugh. We had a delightful Christmas Eve dinner with Helena and her godson, Philip, along with his parents, Anne and Patrick. It was a lovely time but, unfortunately a bug got the better of Read more
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We are lucky travelers to enjoy such a hospitable neighbor in Helena. Her house is just above ours..and even though it is so close, it’s a bit of a challenging walk up the path and around to her driveway. The snow and slush have melted due to the ice and warmer temps but there is Read more
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Thursday morning we boarded the first train that would eventually lead us to Zermatt. One can always tell which are everyday passengers versus tourists. We are agog at everything we see and the locals just sit in boredom tending to their particular electronic device. We traveled around Lake Geneva with Mont Blanc in sight, through Read more
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Each night of Advent, several villages participate in open-houses, with a different home hosting an event each evening. The lovely people living in La Chevrerie invited us to their party last night, complete with homemade pumpkin soup and hot wine, among other yummies. Each time someone arrived, they greeted each person attending with a 3-point Read more
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This is what we woke up to on our first morning in La Chevrerie. We arrived after dark and were lucky that Mike, from the neighborhood, was on our train. He knew we were arriving and led us to Jesus and Polina’s chalet. So happy he was there and had a flashlight as it was Read more
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Received the XCom Global WiFi Hotspot yesterday. Will be trying to pick up signals throughout Switzerland over the next month. They are allowing me to use it on the trip, free of charge, and write about our experiences using it. So, please excuse the “product placement” over the next several weeks. We could have used Read more
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Saw this on the beach the other day. It felt like an omen of our upcoming trip. Found out the little village in which we are staying has 3 feet of snow waiting for us. Suffice it to say we added more sweats to our baggage. The Christmas cookies are baked and now the deadline Read more
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So glad there was a beach to walk on today. The north winds are fierce again and the waves are wild but the sun is finally out. Heading back home was a treat to see our neighbor, Sheila, with the doors open and music drifting out to the porch, while MacKenzie photographed her grilled cheese Read more
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Attempting my usual beach walk today was daunting. At first I reveled in the fact that I was the only one on the beach; and then I realized WHY I was the only one on the beach. The tide’s been up all week, limiting cars and visitors. The weather service says the higher than normal Read more
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This article from the Wall Street Journal sounds like a wonderful option for retirement… Read more
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The wind gusts are fierce here in New Smyrna Beach, as Hurricane Sandy skirts the shores. Wondering how high the stack of palm fronds will go. Who needs tree trimmers when all it takes is a windy weather system to do the job. At least we don’t have to worry about huge oak tree limbs crashing Read more
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After years of going to Fodor’s and Frommer’s for travel advice, I was turned on to Rick Steves and his travel books, radio and TV show. He’s extremely thorough in his travel descriptions, especially of Europe, and goes a step further by including out of the way places to visit when you need a break from Read more
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Keep your fingers crossed! On our trip to Switzerland I may be able to participate in a free trial of a new WiFi system which is being offered internationally by XcomGlobal. While traveling we take our netbook and a Kindle Fire with us, taking advantage of free WiFi signals along the way. However, our recent experience in Germany, missing Read more
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So…we didn’t think we would be making another trip this year, especially to Europe again, but….we received an offer we just can’t refuse. A young couple are thinking about relocating to Volusia County…they have friends and family in Orange City. They asked if we would exchange homes for a month over the holidays. After much angst Read more
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Finally home to report that our home exchange went smoothly with no problems or issues. Some commented, when told we were exchanging homes with a stranger, that they could never do that and aren’t we afraid of returning to a trashed house? Nope, didn’t happen. Everything was left the way we left it…with a few Read more
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The Neuschwanstein Castle – traveling south to Hohenschwangau, approaching the mountains, one might feel like breaking out in song…the hills are alive with the sound of music. Pristine green rolling hills with mountain peaks in the distance, windows open in the train car, it’s a beauty that might be individual to the region. The farmers keep Read more
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My husband likes to live on the edge. Instead of spending 25 Euros on a taxi to take us to the Nuremberg rail station to catch our 6 a.m. ICE train to the Frankfurt airport, he’s put together a schedule which includes catching a bus at 5:20, to the underground system which, ultimately, gets us to Read more
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Rothenburg…a purely Bavarian town that harkens back centuries and preserved in such a way that makes it easy to imagine life when the night watchman walked the protective wall surrounding it. The streets are narrow, lined with shops and restaurants, one of which made for a yummy lunch. It was kind of hot the day Read more
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I think a lot of the charm of this part of Europe, for us, has been the delightful weather…low temps and humidity. But since Ruediger has returned from NSB, the temps are hot and humid…ugh. Spent part of Sunday roaming the Zirndorf festival with Ruediger, Andrea, sons Robin and Jason, along with the neighbors upstairs, Read more
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Spending a couple of days again in Zirndorf, enjoying their festival weekend, beginning with a parade Saturday afternoon. It’s all about the beer here in Zirndorf, with a brewery just up the street (Zirndorfer) and another close by (Tucher). The bands were not made up of high school kids but of mixed ages from young Read more
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After two days of rest and relaxation, chilling in Ruediger’s house and exploring Zirndorf, we headed to Berlin early Friday morning, as in 6:15 a.m. When we finally got to Nuremburg, we hopped on an ICE directly to Berlin and arrived around noon. Enjoyed our coffee on the train, while watching the countryside speed by Read more
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OK, time to get on the soap box…what the hell is wrong with our country in terms of utilizing renewable energy? Of course, I know what is wrong…big oil corporations getting huge tax subsidies and using their lobbyists to encourage legislators to vote their way and put the kabosh on any movement toward using the most Read more
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So after that debacle, we made the one hour flight back to Frankfurt Hahn and bussed to Mainz for the night. Stayed in the popular InterCity hotel, just a couple of blocks from the main train station and a one mile walk to the Rhein River cruise. We were pleasantly surprised with the accommodations and the Read more
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Departing London we were introduced to the reason why Ryanair gets such bad press. They warn you about carry-ons – have to meet certain size and weight standards. I had carefully measured our luggage and it fit the requirements, except for the wheels at the base. Departing Frankfurt Hahn for London, there was a cage-like container where Read more
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Traveling to London was a daylong affair since we chose to fly out of Frankfurt-Hahn airport, which houses Ryanair, the cheapy airline of Europe (and we found out why…later). It takes a few hours on 3 trains, then a couple of hours on a bus to get there. Tiny airport and first come, first seated…one can Read more
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Not able to upload photos right now but lots to come. Got a lot of video of the marathon, up close and personal. These athletes are so amazing that they can continue a pace after so many miles. The made four passes down Northumberland and by the last lap the final runner was still receiving a much Read more
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Today’s plan is to ride the Black Forest Railroad through farmlands, valleys and little towns full of great architecture, green grass and whatever else we might see. We’ve even seen fields of solar panels, then you’ll see a wind turbine, or several, next to a cluster of houses, always with a church steeple peeking through. Ruediger told Read more
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Spent part of the day in Nuremburg in the Old Town which is surrounded by a huge wall and moat along with a castle on a hill, and ancient cathedrals interspersed with modern shopping areas and biergartens. It’s overwhelming to think of the history here and I won’t bore you with it, but following are photos which cannot capture Read more
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Our travel day was, for the most part, uneventful…everything went as planned. We only missed one train, due to our error of boarding a first class car by mistake, and upon realizing it, hopped off but by the time we reached the second class section the train was closing up and leaving the track. Not Read more
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A view of Ruediger’s house…he owns the building and lives on the ground floor. The other two sectons are leased out. Read more
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Ruediger and Belana arrived early Friday morning (2 a.m.) as their flights were delayed…so we were all ready for bed as soon as they got here. We’ve been showing them around the beach and helping Belana with her English…very sweet girl. Ruediger brought gifts (the beer is already gone!) and loves our heat and humidity, Read more
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It’s time to dust off this dormant blog and get it back in circulation. We’re leaving for Germany on Sunday as part of a home exchange with a family from Nuremberg and will use this as a central portal for pictures and journal entries. Our German visitors are Ruediger and his 9-year-old daughter, Belana, who will Read more
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Aargh…another month goes by without a blog entry. If I were making resolutions, my first would be to post more…but then, I’m not making any resolutions, just going to try harder. Below is an excellent piece from Caring.com about just that subject… By Paula Spencer Scott, Caring.com senior editor Last updated: December 26, 2008 Six New Read more
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Check out my Living in the Middle column in the Hometown News Forever Young December publication… Read more
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Check out my new monthly column in the Forever Young insert of the Hometown News (page 8)…Life in the Middle. It will be about dealing with the many layers of the sandwich generation in which many of us find ourselves. A new edition is published the beginning of each month. On a sad note, the Read more
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Recently I jumped at the opportunity to attend my forty-fifth high school reunion. Orlando in the late sixties was a much different place in which to grow up than it is now. Weekends would find us at the Orlando Youth Center, which is still a viable community gathering site in the middle of town. What better Read more
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I met Don at a columnists’ convention last year and, even though we don’t share the same politics, I like his latest column… Baby Boomer’s Method to Occupy Wall Street Look what’s happening out in the streets Got a revolution, Got to revolution — Jefferson Airplane I’ve been expecting Occupy Wall Street to happen for Read more
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October 2nd marked dad’s 87th birthday. We all celebrated at a favorite restaurant where they know us from numerous family gatherings. Mom and dad used to frequent the place a lot til mom got wary of driving so far. Dad remembered the restaurant but didn’t remember the menu and had a difficult time choosing a Read more
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This is good advice for those who cannot help but take personally the words of their spouse or family member. It’s easy to say “Just let it go”, but not so easy when you are the target of the verbal abuse. By Paula Spencer Scott, Caring.com senior editor There’s a tricky underbelly to caregivers’ intense Read more
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My friend, Tory, passed this article along by John Shore, whose blogs appear on johnshore.com along with his writings for Huffington Post… 15 Ways to Stay Sane While Caring For an Elderly Parent One of the most emotionally complex and difficult things a person can experience is taking care of an elderly parent. I recently Read more
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It was an interesting weekend with mom and dad staying with us at the beach. We picked them up Saturday, stopping for lunch along the way back, with plans for a “Back to School” barbeque on Sunday. Dad was in pretty good form throughout, with no “phantom pains” popping up. He was engaged with mom, in Read more
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Dad’s getting a kick out of his great-grandson, Carter’s, newfound ability to sniff a straw wrapper and make it look like a mustache. We all got together for my husband, Charlie’s, birthday and Patty’s impending birthday on Tuesday. Everyone behaved…sort of… Read more
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Obviously getting a loved one tested for dementia early is important. But it’s a touchy situation convincing them they might have an issue with memory. We took the “sneaky” approach mentioned in the Care.com article, “How do I convince my dad to get tested for dementia?” By giving his doctor a “heads up” about our Read more
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Patty and I took mom to a Caregivers’ Support Group meeting at the Winter Park Library, yesterday. Only one other person attended so mom got much needed attention from Linda, the facilitator. She shed a few tears, which was a good thing, and was reminded that she has to take care of herself as well as Read more
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The Orange County, FL, Commission on Aging offers a free monthly email newsletter summarizing the activities of the COA and other initiatives in the community. Each month the COA informs citizens about senior transportation issues, scam alerts, events scheduled in the community and tons of other useful info. If you would like to subscribe to this Read more
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Jess and Ali Great sale on a scorcher of a day. As part of a service project for a class, Jess hosted a carport sale with benefits going to the Epilepsy Foundation of Florida Thanks to all her great clothes, my sister, Patty’s, fantastic toys and books, and our neighbor, Shannon, donating so much really good stuff, Read more
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Had an idea today (I’m sure it’s not an original one) to put together a SnapFish book, for dad’s birthday in October, full of scanned old pics from the early days of mom and dad’s marriage, bringing it to present day. Maybe it will help get him back in the present day timeframe when he’s Read more
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Happy Birthday, August 1, to Mom…86 years. And now, August 2, Happy Anniversary to Mom and Dad…64 years! We all had a wonderful celebration lunch at Seasons 52 (my new fave) and dad was quite lucid throughout. I finally lost count, however, of how many times he asked me if we’d ever been there before. Read more
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Happy Monday…waking up to a blurb on the Today Show about 30 somethings dreading the fact that they are turning 40. Sorry, can’t relate, until you fast forward 30 years later…I’m trying to enjoy my sixties as much as I can, in anticipation of my seventies looming down the road. It’s all relative. Just enjoy Read more
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My poor blog has been ignored too long! Something I learned at a recent columnists’ conference was not to waste the good stuff on FaceBook. How true…spending much too much time over there. To be honest, though, I’ve been putting some research on the back burner and just haven’t taken the time to get into Read more
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So many of our kids don’t want us to invade their Facebook privacy…here’s the reverse from Huffington Post… Read more
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OrlandoSentinel.com Law should allow choice of death over dementia Mike Thomas April 25, 2011 We need a physician-assisted suicide law in Florida. Only we should go beyond the laws approved by voters in Washington and Oregon. They allow people with terminal diseases to obtain a lethal prescription of drugs from a doctor. This does not Read more
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This informative article was published on Medhelp.org, explaining the difference between the terms “dementia” and “Alzheimer’s”… What is Dementia? When large numbers of nerve cells in the brain to stop functioning and lose connections with other neurons, thereby disconnecting parts of the brain that normally work together, dementia is the result. It’s not a disease Read more
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The Daytona Beach News Journal published a thought-provoking article about baby-boomers trying to make their own ends meet while tending to ailing parents. “Of those caring for someone aged 65 or older, the average age of caregivers is 63, with one-third of the caregivers in fair to poor health themselves.” It’s a local take on Read more
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Check out this article in the Daytona Beach News Journal about our daughter, Alison, and her experience with Epilepsy. If you’re in the New Smyrna Beach area Saturday, the 9th, join us for our annual Walk the Talk event to benefit the Epilepsy Foundation of Florida. Read more
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The Orlando Sentinel columnist Scott Maxwell’s take on slashing the Ombudsman program in the state of Florida. This, mostly volunteer, program costs the state very little and has done so much good for those seniors who cannot defend themselves from abuse. This issue is so worthy of the effort of calling and/or writing your congressmen/women. Read more
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Jacksonville, FL – ElderSource announced that it is now accepting applications for ‘SNAP,’ the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, for elders 60 years of age or older. SNAP, more commonly known as food stamps, is not welfare but a program that helps stretch your food budget without taking away from any other benefits. In order to Read more
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If you can afford assisted living care, why not use that money and live on a cruise ship? After returning from a recent cruise, my husband and I decided we are not really “cruisers”, so to speak. We enjoyed our vacation and the ports of call; however, we found ourselves kind of bored during the Read more
Forever Young but Growing Old in Portland 