#289 Nomad Diary. 2-8 May 2026. Airbnb Madison, Alabama. Storing Our Truck for the Summer. Fly to Vancouver, B.C. Celebrity Cruise Begins to Seward/Anchorage, Alaska Without Us! Denied Boarding. Making a Plan B.

Grandson Quinn (5yrs+8mos) in Moscow. 

Walking on Path in Decatur, Alabama Next to a Golf Course at Point Mallard.

Point Mallard Path in Decatur, Alabama

Sunning Turtles in the Tennessee River at Decatur, Alabama

Saturday. 2. Regular morning routine of exercise and Darrell’s pancakes with my pork tenderloin and adorned with greek yogurt, cottage cheese, berries, nuts and maple syrup. We were glad to be having breakfast at 7am, a little early. We could be sure to be hungry by 11am when we arrived at the steak house in Hartselle to meet up with our friends: Alton, Diana, Roy and Hilda. We were so glad to see Hilda because she’s been home and sick for about 4 months! She’s 89 and her husband Roy is constantly watching out for her. And we are all concerned for her recovery. The three of us women were chatting at one end of the lunch table while the men were in conversation at the other end of the table. Hilda talked about her illness that she is still recovering from with some residual weakness. She said that she has said a lot of prayers for herself and for others. I shared some Bible encouragement verses that recently came to my mind. Here’s one: Revelation 5:8 “...golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints…” Her prayers are heard and valued in heaven, as are all of us who call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. She had a funny story to share among some of our more serious and difficult losses of friends and loved ones we know of. While Hilda has been sick at home, people from church have sent cards and small gifts and food to her by way of Roy. A couple weeks ago a woman handed Roy a small gift bag for Hilda. He brought it to her that night, but couldn’t remember who handed it to him. There was no card with it. Inside the bag was a small pillow and a hand brace. Both items she put to immediate use. She found huge comfort in this small pillow that she kept at her side and sometimes at her table would use it to lay her forehead against. She wanted to thank the gift giver and she started with the one woman who she thought it would be from. That woman told her that she didn’t send that gift to her. Over the next couple of weeks, using the directory of members, she has thanked almost every woman in the church for this gift. Everyone has told her that it wasn’t from them. She thinks there is one more woman for her to thank, but she’s humored now to think how long it is taking her to find the right person! We all laughed!

Darrell and I went to Decatur after lunch and took a walk along the river. 

Phone call with Jeremy, Andrea and Quinn in Moscow was enjoyable. Andrea had a conversation with another state department employee who graduated with Jeremy. She has been at her assignment for a couple of weeks in Nigeria. Both Moscow and the place in Nigeria are the same status for level of difficulty. Her description of her place included: can’t drink from the tap, armored car to work, and open sewage in the streets. Meanwhile, Andrea said she was feeling guilty because they are in an extremely clean city and have wonderful accommodations and living situations. The conversation made them more than happy with where they are!

Sunday: Lunch with Eric, Erin, Owen and Esther after morning worship. 

Granville and Kathy at Their House in Limestone County, Alabama

Looked Up My You Tube Channel from Years Ago to Share with a Friend.

Esther(2+7mos) and Owen (4+8mos)on Our Last Playtime before We Leave for Alaska.

On the West Jet Flight Toronto to Vancouver, BC

The Best Airplane Meal that I have Ever had! West Jet First Class Pot Roast.

Monday: Darrell had 2 eye doctor appointments today. His retina doc saw him 5 weeks ago and discovered that his blood clot causing his CRVO was gone! At that appointment, he gave Darrell his scheduled steroid injection. Since then, Darrell’s eyesight has made very small progress, but it is progress. Darrell has been writing a diary to track his daily vision. It’s such small progress that he has to read what he’s written to compare with his current sight. He’s used AI to help him with designing his tests and with what is important to communicating with the doctor. During today’s visit the doctor suggested to not use the steroid and to use a med that uses a smaller needle. Darrell was so happy with the downgrade on the needle size and stopping the steroid. The office made him an appointment in Fairbanks for July 10th with an eye office there. He felt some relief with this planning coming together for our summer in Alaska. We went out for lunch and came back to our apartment for a couple of hours before going to his afternoon eye appointment with the ‘glaucoma’ doctor. This doctor has him on two eye drops to help with the pressure that was a result of the steroid. Now that he’s not taking the steroid, he asked this doc about how long his side effects are happening. This doc told him that the steroid effects can last up to 1 year!! He left him on the two meds for now. At both doc offices, he has normal pressure. 

I called my sister Linda while Darrell was in his morning appointment. We caught up on goings-on for about 30 minutes enjoying our conversation together. 

I talked to my sister-in-law Phoebe today. She and Darrell’s brother Glenn are who we recently stayed with in Kingsport, Tennessee. They now have a plan to sell their house ASAP and move closer to two of their daughters in Pennsylvania and grandkids there. She was sure to let me know that we can come visit them as soon as possible!

Tuesday. 5. Normalish day. We stayed at our apartment all morning through lunch. Decided to take our truck items to Samuel’s house for storage in his front office. Our items overfill the small closet in that room with a couple of items stacked in the opposite corner of the room. We said one last good bye and gave a hug to Samuel about 3pm. Darrell had the idea to take our truck tonight to Jackie's for storage in her and Bubba’s barn. But now we needed a 5:30 pickup there and a ride back to our apartment, about a 30 minute adventure through rush hour traffic. Our Uber friend Melanie agreed that she would come get us and do this evening drive for us in addition to the much shorter drive on Wednesday morning to the airport. We went to Eric and Erin’s to play with Owen and Esther for an hour. After that, we said our final good-byes. Esther gave us a big smile and in her 2 year old cherub voice said, “Bye bye cutiepie!” Made me giggle to think that she likely learned that from me! And it was a happy goodbye with promises of future phone calls with them. We picked up some travel snacks on our way to drop our truck off. Melanie picked us up and we all enjoyed the visit back to our apartment with plans for an 8am pickup tomorrow, Wednesday morning. Back at our place, we had trouble deciding on which restaurant within a couple blocks we would go eat dinner at. We decided that we probably weren’t that hungry. We eventually went for a chicken sandwich at Grill Chix. We had one a couple days earlier and thought it pretty good.  We only ate sandwiches and we so full for the evening that our popcorn snack never happened. We went on to bed as usual. Darrell woke me up at 11:30ish pm calling to me from the bathroom. He was throwing up into the toilet. I awoke and came to him. Whoa, he was so sick. He didn’t seem to have a high temperature. When he finally settled in about 20 more mins. He practically crawled back to bed. I got him a bowl at his bedside for any possible further need. He did need it and continued to wake up every hour for 3 more rounds. I got another bowl and washed the bowls and rotated them throughout each of his episodes. I tried to care for him as best I could with a clean washcloth and some sips of water and a touch of peppermint oil to clean his mouth. We were both miserable, but he was moreso. After 4 am we were both able to sleep 2-3 more hours. I got up about 6:30 and finished packing. I ate the rest of the yogurt we had in our fridge, then I went to Edgar’s and had breakfast about 7 am. Darrell was aware of what I was doing, but he tried to keep sleeping, knowing he had to finish packing and getting his suitcase ready to go. Neither of us were sure if he had the strength to get to the airport and to make it through our long travel day. Through the night I had prayed and thanked God for his care and that we can know that He knows where we are and how we are. He knows how the day is going before I know. He can make me stand and He gives me strength. He can make me stay or make me go. This was definitely a situation for both of us, especially Darrell, to know that if we are going forward, it is not by our own strength and also not in the way we would choose to go forward. I thought of Gideon’s army when God made it so small, that none of them could boast that it was their strength that won the battle, but it was God’s direction and choosing that was showing up for them. Oh, they still had to fight and want to win and press forward in their march, but the odds were so incredibly against them. As I prayed and thought about our situation, I know that we can go in God’s direction and in His ways. We always know that we have chosen our destination and moving plans, but God has final say of each of our days. 

Psalm 121:8 “The LORD will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.”

Wednesday. 6. I texted Melanie to get us at 8:30, if possible, giving Darrell an extra 30 minutes of rest. She agreed that it worked for her. I carried our suitcases to the elevator and put them downstairs at out pickup gate. I did each check out item from our airbnb host list, mainly taking out the trash which was outside, downstairs and at the end of our building. Darrell was able to drink a little water and finish his packing, walk to the elevator, down the hallway to the exit, help load our two 50 pound bags into Melanie’s car and feel okay. 

We said our goodbyes to Melanie and checked in at the airport. Once through security, Darrell bought a ginger ale and carried it along with him through most of our day. He was feeling better and better all day, but there were challenges. He had a terrible headache during one flight. At the Toronto airport he was able to buy some tylenol. He began taking that and the headache went away. On our 5-6 hour flight to Vancouver, he felt like eating some of the roast beef dinner that we were served in 1st class. It was truly the best, or second-best, airline food we have ever had. We were on Westjet. Having first class seats on every flight was an amazing comfort with extra service and drinks served throughout our day. While we were in the Atlanta airport, our gate was right by the Skyclub, and Darrell remembered that we had that privilege. I went over to the hostess to check before Darrell got out of his seat. The hostess was iffy because we didn’t have the proper credit card. She put in our flight information and was so happy to admit us to the club because we were on international ticket status. I ate a very nice full lunch there. Darrell had a top-rate earl grey tea. We also had use of the restrooms and a quieter lounge area away from the normal gate seating. 

It was during our last, longest and latest flight that Darrell was again trying to sleep after eating some dinner. He had to throw up again. It wasn’t everything, but he was then able to drink some ginger ale and settle to rest again. He was running below empty when we arrived to Vancouver, BC airport. We read the luggage arrival carousels wrong and sat through the delivery of all the luggage without ours. I went over to the counter, and he said that we were at the wrong airline carousel and directed us back to the Westjet carousels. We walked back over there and found our luggage. We then went out to the taxi stand and got to our hotel about 10 minutes from the airport. We easily checked in, showered and went to sleep.

In Bloom in Vancouver, BC

Cool Green Plant I Enjoyed While Walking Around the Neighborhood in Vancouver, BC

My Diner Lunch in Vancouver, BC.

Getting on the Metro to Go to The Port in Vancouver.

Waiting at the Port of Vancouver for Our Boarding Time on Celebrity.

Our Health Questionairre is Questioned. We were put into a 'penalty box' as Darrell called it and given complimentary masks to wear. We were denied boarding and our luggage was retrieved from the ship.

View from the coffee shop where we decompress and find a hotel for the night.

In Our nice Hotel Blu room for Friday night. Darrell is working on Insurance notification and I've already been exploring our options for our coming days and week.

Hotel Blu Fish Tank

Thursday. 7. We went down to the breakfast room which was packed with people. We were able to each have a boiled egg, two for me and a hot drink. We came back up to our room so Darrell could go back to bed and I have typed this diary entry. To be continued. Smiling and praying. Darrell is happy to have a bed to be in. Our neighborhood is walkable with a lot of stores and restaurants close. The weather is mild and similar to Alabama’s with less humidity.

My mind has been going through various scenarios about what we may encounter with our forward travel, and even if the cruise may bar us from sailing on Friday afternoon. Here are some of my thoughts:

We are able to get onto the cruise and Darrell is recovered. If he’s mostly stable, they could let us on with some sort of healthcare watch, or limits to keep us/him in our room for a number of days, etc. 

We are barred from going onto the cruise. They could offer us a sailing trip next week. But this option messes with our car rental and our Anchorage airbnb arrival dates. 

We could get a refund and fly to Anchorage. The shortest flight is 3 1/2 hours direct. We have a post cruise, pre-arranged shuttle ticket from Seward to Anchorage to cancel. We also need to monitor our stay in Canada. We listed a 3 day stay with immigration and that may need to be adjusted– not sure when, where or how, but seems doable.

Thursday afternoon about 4:30, I threw up. I threw up two more times until 11:30 pm. At 2:30am I took a tylenol. I was feeling better by morning.

Friday. 8. We got up and got ready for the day. I was able to eat yogurt and ginger ale. Darrell ate a normal breakfast. We were both taking Pepto Bismol by this time. After looking it up online and what it does, I will start taking it sooner the next time I get an illness like this. We took the train downtown to the port. We dropped off our luggage and went to wait until our 2pm boarding time. Once in line, we answered the 2 question medical survey with a yes on #2. We were directed to a particular agent. She put us in chairs behind a taped area and gave us masks to wear. Darrell called it the penalty box. She told us that we would get a ship doctor evaluation and he would decide if we could go or not. Meanwhile she was having our luggage pulled off the ship. We were there for a couple of hours, given our luggage and a letter about our situation and our cruise credit. We left the building and the dock and walked into town. We found a bagel shop to go to that was very nice and welcoming. We sat there and had a snack and decided where we would stay for the night. We left the shop and walked about a mile to Hotel Blu and checked in. We got to our room and had some tea. I looked for a place to eat dinner. Darrell called the insurance. I looked up the cost and times of flights. We went out to dinner and talked about what we were going to do. We decided to purchase the flight tickets for the next morning at 11:30. I picked out a 1 week stay in Anchorage and Darrell got a rental car. 

Any life thoughts or contemplations to add:

Thought of this Bible verse: 

1 Thes 2: 19 For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you? 20 For you are our glory and joy.

Asking myself: what is my “crown of boasting” before our Lord Jesus at his coming?  Boasting is allowed here in this picture. It’s a positive of what I tell and show Jesus what I’ve done for him during my lifetime. 

Aside thought just now. How do others boast to Christ? What holds value to Christ? (crowns of boasting to Jesus that don’t have value to Jesus):  Matt 7: 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.

My thoughts: I’ve got to understand and know my identity through what I say and do. I am: a faithful daughter and obedient; I am a learner of Christ; I pray to Christ. I seek peace and pursue it. I capture every thought and bring it into obedience to Christ:  2 Corinthians 10: 5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,” How difficult this is to do. To be true to myself when I know all of my inconsistencies and all of my times of being bad, and all of my times of failure in Christ, and all of my times of poor judgement and counsel to others. Help me God to grow with compassion to myself and to others. 

In regards to:

 What Christ values and who he loves and why:

Revelation 3: 9b. “they will learn that I have loved you. 10 Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth.”

I have loved you because… you have kept my word about patient endurance…

 …  verse 11: 11 I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown.

Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown

Prayer: Revelation 5: 8 “And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.” … verse 11: 

Golden Bowls full of incense=the Prayers of the Saints 

Prayer isn’t an imposition. It is a privilege.

Revelation 6:9-11 “9 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. 10 They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” 11 Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.”

My thought: a crown of boasting for martyrs: slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne… they were each given a white robe and told to rest while more were to be killed as they.