Tuesday November 6, 2012
After voting in this years election we made a trip to the
post office to pick up the mail and then gassed up the car. We then headed west toward western NY.
In PA we stopped at the Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs, ate lunch at Johnny Rockets
and then gambled for a little bit. I won $53. on a $10. free play. Yay!!! On
our way to the casino we got detoured because of a tractor-trailer mishap. The
weight of the trailer must have shifted as the driver exited the highway and
tipped over blocking all lanes headed in the direction we were going. We
finally stopped in Hagerstown, MD for the night.
Wednesday November 7, 2012
We got up early and had a nice breakfast and then headed
south. We drove through the rest of MD, passed through Virginia, making a pit
stop to go to the bathroom, get gas, coffee and a little gift at a outlet
store. Our stop was in Gum Springs, Virginia. People were very nice here. We
just missed a tractor-trailer mishap; yes again. When we got back into our car
there was a thick black cloud of smoke coming from the highway we had just
exited. We continued on into West Virginia, North Carolina and finally into SC
to make our next stop at Myrtle Beach.
Thursday November 8, 2012
This morning after breakfast we decided to head down to the
beach. We walked the boardwalk for a little while then sat on the pier for $1
per person. However, it was unlimited access for the entire day. We only spent
about 40 minutes on the pier and watched as a lot of the locals fished. The sun
was nice and bright, but the air was a little cool. We went back to our room
for a few hours before meeting up with one of dad’s friends. He and his wife
showed us their home and then we went to dinner at Outback. Apparently, what I
had for dinner did not agree with me and I was sick the rest of the evening.
Friday November 9, 2012
After breakfast we packed the car and headed south. We drove
down to Savannah, GA. We got to the hotel around 2pm in the Historic district.
We quickly unpacked the car and caught the next trolley to the Old Town
Savannah tours. We got to see a lot of beautiful homes, buildings, park areas
or as they call them “squares” and got a huge history lesson. So much overload
that I really can’t remember everything we were told. We got off at stop 6 and dropped into the Pirates House, an
old pirates house from the 1800’s that has been converted into a restaurant. It
is said to be haunted and although we did not get any vibes, staff confirmed
that things can get pretty creepy, especially late at night with only staff
present. After a late lunch we walked to the nearest park and waited for the
next trolley, so that we could finish the on-off tour. Because it was so late
in the afternoon, we decided we would do the tour again in the morning and get
on-off in a few different spots. The second trolley driver was hysterical and
kept us laughing for the rest of the tour. His enthusiasm and love for the
history made it a worthwhile tour.
Saturday November 10, 2012
We began day 2 of the Old Town Savannah tour only to find
out that because of the local Veterans Day parade a lot of streets normally on
the tour were blocked off and that none of the trolley runs were going to allow
on-off tours. If you did get off at any of the stops, you would not be picked up
again until after 1 pm. We did not want to wait that long to get back on the
road, so we just took the tour again. It was interesting to see how
“Pocahontas” narrated the tour. We even got to see Forrest Gump on this trip,
he was looking for lieutenant Dan and boarded our trolley. It was pretty funny.
We left Savannah this morning around 11 am and headed to St. Augustine, Fl. We
first stopped in Jacksonville, Fl to visit my nephew Mike, his wife Natalie and
their son Liam. They just moved there about a week ago, so Mike can attend
school for underwater diving. We stayed for about an hour and went to dinner.
After an early dinner we headed further south, making our final stop in St.
Augustine. After finding our hotel, we took a ride to get a look around. Nightlife
appears to be very busy down here.
Sunday November 11, 2012
We purchased tickets after breakfast to do the St. Augustine
downtown tour. We had perfect timing because the shuttle was on it’s way to the
hotel to pick up another couple, who we kept running into during the trolley
tours. We began the tour and got off about ¼ of the way through, so we could
catch the first shuttle bus to the beach. While at the beach we got off at the
lighthouse stop. All of us climbed the 219 steps to the top of the lighthouse
and got a spectacular view of the surrounding area. Mom did a great job
climbing the stairs, we took our time and took rest breaks at the designated
landings on the way up. When we were done with that part of the tour we headed
back to finish the trolley tour. We got off another stop and walked to the
chocolate and wine store. During our tour, who did we run into but my nephew
Mike. He was running around the streets of St. Augustine with one of his
friends. How weird!! He is suppose to be in Jacksonville. Because we were
getting crunched for time we decided to get back on the trolley and head over and
see the old fort. It was amazing, we even got to see the men fire the cannon.
This fort in all of it’s battles was never overtaken. This by far was our
longest day and we were all tired after the tour. We caught one of the last
buses back to the hotel. We went to dinner at a local hot spot, a little diner
with great food.
Monday November 12, 2012
We left St. Augustine this morning and headed toward southern
Fl. On our way we stopped at the Daytona International speedway and took the
all access tour. So we were able to see the track and behind all the scenes of
Daytona. It was truly an awesome experience. If you are a NASCAR fan, you don’t
realize how much of an incline the turns on the track have. Amazing!!! We also got to go up into
one of the press boxes. At a cost of $90,000 a season you can have a seat up in
this box. It has an awesome view of the entire track and is fully catered.
Right next to this particular box was the Fox Sports Broadcast booth. Very cool!!!
A “must do” tour for any NASCAR fan. We got to our hotel around 4pm and checked
in. Once we got our bags to the room, we called my brother Mike and went to see
him for a few hours and took him to dinner. It was great to see him. It’s been
6 years at least.
Tuesday November 13, 2012
Mike had to work this morning, so we did our thing and
waited for him to call us after getting out of work. He called around 2:30, but
we were still busy. We finally met up with him around 3:30-4:00pm and headed
down to the broadwalk. It was overcast and pretty cool. We stayed for about an
hour. It’s hard to believe how much the area has been built up since I visited
there in my teen years. Since it’s Fl’s winter, there is not much going on and
many of the businesses were closed. After spending about an hour or two with
Mike we drove him home and we headed back to the hotel.
Wednesday November 14, 2012
Today we picked up Mike and headed to the Science Museum where
he wanted to go. It was a little boring and there were a ton of children on a
school fieldtrip. The simplest things make him happy and he does not get to do
things like this often, so it was worth going. It only took about 2 hours to go
through the museum and then we headed over to our hotel for lunch and to spend
time in the pool. After lunch mom laid down for a nap while Mike, dad and
myself headed to the pool/hot tub. After about and hour of going from hot
tub/pool and back to the hot tub we were asked to get out of the hot tub
because of a chemical imbalance. Dad and I played a few games of corn hole. He
kicked my butt, but I should know better because he is good at most games he plays. As we headed back up to
the room, mom woke up from her nap and headed down to the pool. We informed her
that the hot tub was closed and she was a bit upset, so while dad laid down for
a nap, Mike, myself and mom just sat down by the pool for a little bit. It was
already late in the afternoon, so the time to enjoy the sun was not long. After
dinner we brought Mike home and the three of us relaxed for the rest of the
evening.
Thursday November 15, 2012
We picked up Mike late in the morning, around 11am and
headed to the Hard Rock Seminole Casino and Hotel. We spent a few hours here
and I taught my brother how to gamble using the cards, much like they use
everywhere now. We all had a good time. I lost what money I won at Mohegan Sun
at Pocono and then some. One of the machines I was going to play was a $.05
machine and since I was already down a bit of money, I decided I would play a
machine on the opposite side. Well I got on the other machine, which was a $.01
machine. I heard the machine I was
going to play making a lot of noise (winning bells/whistles) I walked over to
find out it was my mom, winning. She hit the bonus for a good amount of money. I
was very happy for her and mad at myself for not just playing that machine. After
we grabbed a quick bite to eat we headed down to the beach and walked around, before
we had to bring Mike back so he could get ready for work. It was a nice warm
and sunny day and the beach was busy with many people catching up on their
vitamin D. We all got some ice cream at one of the local stands on the
broadwalk; it was awful. I love soft ice cream but this was too soft, almost
soupy and it didn’t have much flavor either. After spending about 2 hours on
the beach we brought Mike home and we returned to our hotel. Mom, dad and
myself, decided to get into the pool/hot tub for a bit. My mom kept asking me
“don’t you have a phone call to make”? I kept pushing this off. It wasn’t a
phone call I had to make, yet I had to log onto the internet and check to see
if NBCOT (national board for certification in occupational therapy) had posted
the grades for the national exam. I was so nervous, that I really didn’t want
to look. It was while my mom began preparing dinner and I tried to help her and
she refused my assist, I decided to logon to my NBCOT account and look. I
closed my eyes after typing in my password, hitting enter and the screen began
to load. After I opened my eyes, my heart stopped and I began to cry. I
couldn’t speak and I brought my laptop over to where my mom was standing and
showed her the phrase “passed”. I was very
much relieved. Both my parents and I gave a group hug and we all cried a
little. I am now officially a Registered Occupational Therapist. Now, I am just
awaiting my NYS licensure to be finalized. We cleaned up the kitchen/dishes
after dinner and sat out on the patio and played rummy for a little while. I
feel normal again, I can have my life back and feel so relaxed.
Friday November 16, 2012
Today was a very lazy day. Although it was overcast much of
the day and cooler than previous days, we spent the day at the pool. We met a nice
group of individuals who live in NJ. The one guy and his wife own a restaurant
in Monroe called Marino’s. When we go down to Westchester for mom’s Dr.’s
appointment in December we might stop there to see what they have to offer. It
was nice that we didn’t have to drive anywhere or do anything today. After
dinner dad and I took the car to gas up and stopped to get some soft ice cream.
There was a little ice cream shop I found by browsing the hotel booklet. Well
we both got a small cone; cookies –n – cream soft ice cream. The total came to
$8.18. I nearly choked, holy-cow and it wasn’t that good. The picture looked
better than it tasted. Well we’re on vacation so what the heck.
Saturday November 17, 2012
We headed to Ft. Myers today. For some reason we were all
thinking it was going to take 4-5 hours to go from Weston, Fl to Ft. Myers, Fl.
Well it only took 2 ½. So once we checked into our hotel we headed to Ft. Myers
beach where there was a display of sand castles and other creations. The
whether was awesome and the sun was shinning. I went barefoot on the beach. The
sand was so soft and cool, even though the sun was beating down on it. I took
many pictures and listened to a demonstration about how these sand creations
are built. Who knew it took a certain type of sand? Did you know that not all
sand is the same? We spent a few hours at the beach and then headed back to the
hotel. This place was one of the worst I’ve ever stayed in. The room smelled
really bad, I couldn’t determine if it was moldy or stale cigarette smoke. The
curtains had holes in them, the pool areas was dirty with broken furniture. Dad
used the skimmer to skim the pool of all the leaves and pollen. It was suppose
to be a heated pool, however it was not. The room was so bad we had to ask to
be relocated. The 24-hour coffee station, either provided no coffee or cold
coffee and the breakfast selection was not much to talk about either. The
accommodations were just awful, however the staff was very friendly and
accommodating. The facility itself really needs some major TLC.
Sunday November 18, 2012
This morning we went to the local Manatee Sanctuary park. We
got a glimpse of several of these magnificent creatures. In a few more weeks
they will be more active in this particular park. We then took a drive up SR-80
for several miles, just to see the surrounding areas. After coming back too our
room, dad laid down and mom and I headed to the pool area, which is much to be
desired. It was cold and full of leaves again. About an hour or two later we
received a phone call from very good friends of ours (Steve and Marianne) that
have moved to this areas a few years ago from NY, so we headed over to their
house and spent a few hours catching up. It was such a great visit and made me
really miss our past gatherings. We got to see Michelle and Tina, too. Tomorrow
we are going to visit more friends for a few hours and head North towards
Nashville. We most likely will get to mid-state (Gainesville, Fl) area by
tomorrow evening.
Monday November 19, 2012
We checked out of the hotel around 10:00am and then headed
to another dear friend of ours, Danny and Jo. They moved to Fl in 2006 and we
haven’t seen them much since. We used to get together all of the time
(birthdays, holidays, etc). They are more than friends to us; they are family.
We had a wonderful visit and Jo made such a delicious brunch. It was great to
get a home cooked meal. Jo is an awesome cook. We then sat and visited for a
few more hours. We got a chance to meet their second grandson who will be two
on Saturday, November 24. He is such a cutie. We got on the road a little later
than we planned, but it was great to visit and try to catch up. We arrived in
Alachua, Fl just north of Gainesville around 6:30pm.
Tuesday November 20, 2012
This morning we got back on the road early and headed north
to Chattanooga, TN. We are trying to plan our trip so that we are not on the
roads during the busy Holiday travel times. Most of today was spent on the road
traveling. We grazed by Atlanta, GA on the highway cutting right through the
heart of the capital. We got into Chattanooga, TN and checked into the Hotel.
We then asked the clerk at the Hotel, about the best places to eat. He
suggested a place called The Chop House; it’s a local establishment where all
the locals go to eat. So, that’s where we headed. I have to say, it was pretty
good. We made it an early night. Mom and I decided to take a quick dip in the
heated indoor pool. The only downside was we had to access our room from
outside. Yes, that means we had to exit the pool area and go down the courtyard
to our room at the other end of the facility and it was pretty cold outside. We
called it a day and were in bed before 9pm.
Wednesday November 21, 2012
Toady we spent time getting to see Chattanooga. Their downtown
scene didn’t really look like there was much going on. It was not well laid out
and it was hard to figure out where we were going, even with the GPS. So we
took a ride up the Mountain, known as lookout Mountain. We stopped to see the
sights from Ruby Falls. We did not go on the tour though, because it was too
much money to see something that is close to a similar venue at home (Howe
Caverns). We continued to make our way up the mountainside and drove
through “Fairland”. An actual little town that has fairytale named roads. We
then stopped at the Incline Railway and took the roundtrip ride from the very
top of this mountain to the bottom and back up again. It is the
highest/steepest incline railway in North America, and is pretty neat. Our whole
vacation is like a history lesson. Every time we stop somewhere and take a
little tour, we get a mini history lesson. We made our way back to The Chop
House for dinner and I got the Homemade Blue Crab Cakes, Yummy!!!!. They were
so delicious. After dinner we walked around the Largest Mall in Tennessee. We
didn’t have to go very far, because it was literally behind the Chop House and
our Hotel. We took a wander around two stores that we don’t have at home; “Dillard’s
and Belk”. Since these stores are so big they have two, which are two stories
each, and the stores are separated into Men’s & Children’s in one store and
Women’s & Housewares in the other. We only walked around for about 45
minutes and then headed back to the hotel and settled in for the night. We will
get on the road tomorrow and hopefully make our way to Nashville without
incident. I sure hope the traffic is not too bad.
Thursday November 22, 2012
Happy Thanksgiving!!!! We ate breakfast, packed our things
and watched the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade for about 1 ½ hours . It was
close to 10:30 am when we finally got in the car and headed northwest to
Nashville. The ride was not too bad and traffic was fair. We drove through some
beautiful mountains and countryside. I didn’t like how windy the roads were
though it makes me nervous. We finally arrived in Nashville close to the noon
hour. Once we got settled into our room, we headed out to get some dinner. We
thought we’d have a nice early Thanksgiving Dinner around 2-3 at the Cracker
Barrel. Well it seems everyone had the same idea. Although, it was packed our
wait time was only about 40 mins. The three of us had the Thanksgiving special;
Turkey, Ham, Green Beans, Sweet Potato Casserole, Cranberry Jelly and Cornbread
and Biscuits. Even though the portions were a little on the light side, it was
enough for me. I was surprised at how tasty it was too!! Most of the shops and
things were closed in Downtown Nashville because of the holiday, so we decided
to return to our hotel and relaxed the rest of the night.
Friday November 23, 2012
After breakfast we purchased tickets for the Discover
Nashville tour for the afternoon run. In the morning we drove into downtown,
parked the car and took a walk around for about ½ hour. It was like a ghost
town; there were not many shops open and the people on the streets were far and
few. I will admit it was only 10:30 am and most of the establishments did not
even open until 11:00. We then stopped off for lunch and got ready to go on our
Discover Nashville tour scheduled for 1:30. Well the tour was not worth the
money because the tour guide talked too fast or too soft, so we couldn’t
understand him. He also would talk about a particular building or sight before
we got near it or even after we passed it, so we had no idea what he was
talking about. The best part of this tour was the admission into the Ryman
Auditorium and The Country Music Hall of Fame Museum. Both were self-guided
tours. We got to spend 45 minutes at the Ryman and 1 ½ hours in The Country
Music Hall of Fame. I loved the Ryman because I got to see the alternate Grand
Ol’ Opry Stage. I remember watching programs when I was younger that were
performed on that stage. The Country Music Hall of Fame Museum was like walking
down memory lane. It was very cool to see all of the memorabilia and pieces of
history. The best part was that Craig Morgan was performing a free concert and
although he was just getting started as our bus was getting ready to re-board.
I did get a chance to hear him sing two or three songs. I got a glimpse of him
but was not able to get too close because of the huge crowd. I guess when tickets
are “free” it will draw such large crowds. The tour ended around 4:30pm and
after getting back to the hotel we took a walk up the street to an Irish pub
and had dinner. We turned in early
again and got a good nights rest. I don’t think any of us have been to bed this
early ever. Lol!! I guess vacations will do that to you.
Saturday November 24, 2012
We slept in a little bit today, it’s the latest we’ve slept
during our entire vacation. After breakfast we took a ride to the other side of
town to see The Antique Archeology store, from the program American Pickers. We
had to wait in line for about 30 minutes to get in because they were only
letting 8-10 people into the store at one time due to it’s small size. Although
Mike Wolf was not there, it was kind of cool to see all of the old antiques and
items that he has collected over the years. I’ll admit I am not a regular
watcher of the program but it was a point of interest. We then headed back over
to the Bicentennial Capital Mall State Park. It was one of the points of
interest on the tour and since the tour guide went by this really fast I wanted
to come back and just stroll through leisurely. There is a WWII memorial, which features an 18,000 lb. granite
globe floating on 1/8 inch of water. The countries on the globe are as they
were during the war. There is a small map of Tennessee with lines showing the
mileage to different theatres of war also in the park is The Court of 3 stars and Bell Carillon. The
Court of 3 Stars is a focal point of the park located at the northern end near
Jefferson Street. Made of red, white and blue granite, this area represents the
three Grand Divisions of the state - East, Middle and West Tennessee. This is
also the site of a 95-bell carillon representing Tennessee's musical heritage.
The 95 bells represent the citizens of Tennessee's 95 counties. A 96th bell,
known as the answer bell, is located on the grounds of the State Capitol and
rings in answer to the 95 bells, symbolizing government answering to the
people. The carillons are some of the largest in the world. They play
Tennessee-themed songs at the top of the hour, every hour. It was all very interesting. I also
was able to get a nice picture of the Capital building. After spending about 30
minutes in the park, we headed to downtown for lunch. Before we got to downtown
we made a quick stop into the Union Station Hotel, restored 19th
century railroad station. This place was absolutely magnificent inside and the architecture
was beautiful. We ate at Jacks BBQ, which is also a famous landmark. Although
it was a pretty cold day downtown was very busy with a lot of activity. Most of
the bars were open and many had live entertainment. We decided to make one of
our stops into Honky Tonk Central a three-story bar (every floor has a
different band). We made our way to the 3rd floor and we each had a
beer while listening to the music. We went back to the hotel to rest for a bit,
then headed over to Opryland Hotel to check out the Country Christmas at
Gaylord Opryland Hotel. There were several lobbies in this magnificent hotel
and each was decorated with holiday lights a little bit differently. The only
negative side was that is was extremely crowded.
* Italicized texted
Courtesy of: http://www.tn.gov/environment/parks/Bicentennial/historical/#wwii
Sunday November 25, 2012
This morning for breakfast we went to the Cracker Barrel
over in Opryland and then headed over to the new Grand Ol’ Opry. We were a bit
disappointed that it was closed for the season, so there were no tours. We
shopped around in the adjacent store for a little bit and then headed across the
parking lot to the Opry Mills Mall. Dad really wanted to check out the Bass Pro
Shop since we’ve never been in this store before and it was quite fascinating.
I know!!, it doesn’t take much to make me happy or really amuse me. We headed
back to our hotel around 2pm so we could do some laundry and pack our bags. We
are headed toward Virginia tomorrow. I think we are going to go all the way to
Palmyra, VA so that we can visit some family. It’s a 9-hour drive, so we might
stop, it will all depend on how dad feels. For dinner we went back to the Irish
pub and Mom and I both got soup in a bread bowl. Mom got beer and cheese soup,
which was delicious, and I got potato/bacon soup.
Monday November 26, 2012
Today was full of driving, with a quick stop at Bristol Motor
Speedway. It was closed for tours today, which I didn’t mind. How can you beat
Daytona Motor Speedway? We got stuck in traffic for 45 minutes on I-81N because
of a tractor-trailer fire. We finally got to Palmyra around 7:30pm after a long
day of driving. We walked across the parking lot of the hotel, to IHop and had
a late dinner. We then headed for bed, but not before getting a call from our
family members, so we could set up tomorrows schedule.
Tuesday November 27, 2012
Today was a very dreary day, it was cool with a light
drizzle of rain all day. Joyce and Bill picked us up at our hotel around 10:30
am and the five of us headed into Charlottesville to see the area. They gave us
a tour of the area in which they live. It’s a nice area and rich with history.
After lunch we drove around a little bit more, stopped at the grocery store to
pick up needed items for dinner and then headed to see where Joyce, Bill,
Melanie and Rob live. We got a chance to see Melanie’s horses that she talks
about at every family reunion. They are beautiful and big. Around 3pm the three
of us went back to our hotel room, to get some rest. Dad and I headed into the
hot tub, while mom laid down for a nap. A little after 6pm, we headed back over
to Joyce and Bills for dinner. Melanie and Rob met us over there shortly after
they got home from work and Rob cooked an amazing dinner for all of us. We all visited until well after 10pm,
talking about a multitude of things. It was a great visit and I wish we could
do this more often.
Wednesday November 28, 2012
Today we went to Monticello – Thomas Jefferson’s house. It
was the most amazing thing I have seen in a long time. It was very interesting
and made me wish I paid more attention to history in high school. We had a
light lunch in the café there before heading back to Joyce and Bills, so we
could feed the horses some apples that we brought. While we were feeding the
horses, they got a little competitive for the apples, which made me a little
nervous. I am not used to being around such large animals and I know they can
be a little unpredictable. I did not want to get kicked or bit. By 4pm mom, dad
and myself headed back to our hotel to get some rest before we went to dinner
at 6:30. This time all three of us headed for the hot tub, except it was barely
lukewarm. The staff said that the breaker to the hot tub and pool had tripped
and it was not known how long it had been like. They said that it could take
more than 30 minutes for the hot tub to heat up, so we headed to our room and
got ready for dinner. Rob, Joyce and Bill picked us up around 6:30 pm and we
headed into Charlottesville. Melanie met us at a restaurant called Bizou. It
was one of the best meals I’ve had in a long time & I was completely
impressed. I am not very good at trying new menu items, but this meal was
fabulous. The best I’ve had on the entire vacation. Mom and I accompanied
Melanie back to our hotel, while dad rode with Rob, Joyce and Bill. It was very
nice to see everyone and visit. We don’t get to spend this kind of time with
each other at the annual reunions, because there are some many others to see
and talk too! We exchanged addresses and will be keeping in touch. I almost
forgot to mention this; Melanie works for UVA Health and the oncologist that
did mom’s cell stem rescue back in ‘98 works with this same company. Anyway,
Melanie emailed him early today and told him about her. He responded and said
he was very surprised to hear from her. He would love for mom to contact him, so
we are going to send him an email in the next few days. It’s too bad that we
didn’t have more time to spend in the Charlottesville area, because we could
have tried to set up some time and seen Dr. Cirenza. Well we said our goodbyes
and headed to the hot tub again. This time it was perfect and we spent some
time relaxing and reminiscing about our trip thus far. We decided that we were
going to head home tomorrow and if I know my dad we will drive the 9 hours straight
and get home. No more stops for this family, it’s time to get home.
Thursday November 29, 2012
After breakfast we packed up our things, checked out, gassed
up the car and hit the interstate at 10:20 am. We only made two stops on the
way home. Once around 1:30 for a light lunch and the other around 4:00pm to
gamble at the Mohegan Sun Pocono Downs. Yes, we decided to stop here on the way
home. Unfortunately, my luck was not the same as it was more than 20 days ago. We
left the casino around 5:00pm and once we got back into town dad wanted to stop
at the Elks Lodge in Rotterdam for a drink. We finally got home at 9:30 pm. I
decided to unpack the car so we would not have to do it in the morning. It is
so good to be home. I missed my 2 cats and my bed. The next few days will be
unpacking, cleaning and getting some much needed rest. Funny how one needs to
rest from vacation, you are supposed to get rest while on vacation. Anyway,
this has been a fabulous experience and I would not trade it for the world. I
am very fortunate that I was able to take this opportunity and travel.
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