Vet, Cadillacs, and Science

Ahoy!

What a great weekend. It started off a little rough, but by the end it was a good one.

Friday afternoon Kristin and I returned from school/work to find Jerry looking very sad and sick. He hadn't moved from the top of the heater all day, hadn't eaten or drank a thing for over 24 hrs. I've seen him very sick before, more than once. This was the first time he wanted to hide and be alone. That worried us most. Kristin and I agreed we should take him to the vet. I called a local vet who's supposed to be pretty good and, over the phone and w/out ever being a client, asked us what was wrong and counseled us to take Jer to the Animal Emergency Center. 2 hrs, some X Rays, antibiotics, and $400 later, we took home an exhausted and still sick looking cat.

With my parents coming up to visit the next day, we called to tell them we might have to cancel b/c of our cat. They were disappointed by understood. We agreed to call them the following day to give them an update. That night we kept our eye on Jerry and let him sleep in our bed and around 230 he was up and meowing. Around 5 he was batting us in the heads wanting food. Good signs. Eventually we got up and slowly fed him food, 1 spoonful in his dish at a time so he wouldn't overdo it. Anyway, he ended up about 80% back to normal so I called my parents right before they planned to leave to tell them we'd pick them up.

Saturday was great once we got under way. We had lobster rolls at a little place across the street from the airport then drove to Cadillac Mountain. The views were spectacular in the cold, clear late fall air. It was fun to see Schoodic Mountain from Cadillac, and having climbed both, I think Cadillac's is a better view (except Cadillac we drove up to the top and Schoodic Kristin and I hiked. The hike makes the view better). Afterwards we relaxed in the hot tub, watched some [cable] TV, had a drink then went to dinner. Cleonice again provided an excellent dining experience, although the appetizers were a little salty. I had lobster fra diavlo (support Maine lobstermen!): spicy lobster whole boiled in the shell over linguine. It was fantastic. Afterward I had a great apple tart w/ ice cream. Yum. The Manhattan I had had a bit too much vermouth for my taste, but I think that was a different bartender than last time. Everyone seemed satisfied with dinner and we slept well.

Sunday we had a (heavy but) yummy breakfast again at the 2 Cats in Bar Harbor, then drove out to desolate Schoodic Point where the granite rocks stretch into the Atlantic. It was another picture perfect day and my parents enjoyed the views. By the time we got back to the airport I was feeling a little off, so we skipped the plane ride around Mt. Desert Island and headed home.

I was sad to see my parents go. We really do have a great time with them whenever we hang out. It's always like a vacation, laid back and without pressure to rush around or stay busy. I'm very thankful for that, and I'm glad to have a good relationship with my parents. On another note, the new plane is quite handsome. I really like the blue metallic paint on the bottom; I kind of wished the engine cowl was also dark blue, but what can you do. The new electronics look really cool, and I wish I could've seen them in action; maybe next time.

The end of Sunday was busy. Jerry was back to his old self by the time we had returned and I ended up going to help Kristin work on her research. We actually had a pretty good time together grinding up samples using mortar & pestle. I have to respect scientists for their attention to detail, something I could/should work on.

If you were wondering, I did not wear a lab coat....but I could have.

Telephone Blues,
Kurt

PS. Samantha got to the cabin. Jealousy