Drive Day 2: New Bern

New Bern is a small coastal town- the Neuse River, not the ocean that is.  It is a quaint little town with tons of southern charm.  It is over 300 years old and was founded by Baron Christopher de Graffenried, from Bern Switzerland.  Bern is loosely translated to “Bear”; therefore the town’s symbol is the Bear, and they certainly are proud of the bear.  Everywhere you turn there are bear status, bear flags, stores with bear names, etc, etc. 

One the morning of our second day, we went to the Baker’s Kitchen for breakfast…. If you are ever in New Bern you must eat there!  It was fantastic.  They are famous for their French toast, and it did not disappoint.  They even have special homemade butter syrup.  I had never even heard of butter syrup before, but now I want to learn how to make it or where to buy it – it is that good.  Jeremy had the biscuits and gravy and claimed they were the best he ever had. 

After breakfast we ventured down to the home of Brad’s Drink – the real reason we stayed in New Bern.  If you know me at all (or my mother for that fact), you will know that I LOVE Pepsi.  Addicted is probably the better word.  I am constantly working on quiting Pepsi, and before the surgery, I had gone almost 2 months without a Pepsi (now I really sound like an addict). 

In a little corner pharmacy, “Brad’s Drink” was created by Caleb Bradham.  Brad’s Drink was later patented as Pepsi-Cola.  Pepsi is now owned by a family bottling company in the Carolinas.  The store told the rich history of Pepsi and its roots in both North and South Carolina. 

It was fun to stroll through the restored store and soda-fountain.  It almost felt like you were ordering a float back in the day – except for all the modern day souvenirs you could purchase.  And yes, I was that tourist and bought several Pepsi souvenirs.  I did enjoy a nice cold glass of Pepsi – it was closer to the original formula and had almost twice the amount of concentrate.  It was so very delicious.  Reminded me why I love Pepsi.  I even stopped by for a second cup on the way out of town – addicted I tell you!   

After strolling the streets and shops, we made our way over to Tyron Palace.  We only purchased the garden pass instead of touring the inside.  Jeremy could only take so much – in more ways than one!

Tryon Palace was the original Governor’s Palace.  Now I don’t know the full history of the site, but I believe it was one of the original buildings was North Carolina became a colony.   Today, Tryon Palace and the adjacent NC History Center is the main attraction of New Bern.  I am sure if we had more days, or kids, we would have enjoyed spending more time there.  But walking the gardens were enough for us.

The gardens were styled after traditional English Gardens.  And I love that style!  A year ago we went to England for a wedding and stayed at an Inn located on a large estate.  Although the estate had yet opened to visitors for the season, we were given a tour.  It was beyond beautiful and the gardens were amazing.  So walking through the Tryon gardens brought back those memories.

I must say that although they gardens were pretty, they were not all they could be.  It was not in full bloom yet and looked as though they were not in full tourist mood.  The grounds were not kept up and there was some work to be done.  Both Jeremy and I commented on the fact it could have been a little nicer.  Nonetheless, we enjoyed strolling around on a beautiful day.

I did love the vegetable garden.  How I wish I could have one too some day.

All in all, New Bern was a great little town to visit and the perfect side trip to end our time in North Carolina.

From New Bern we drove to Charleston via the back roads and the coastal route.  More on the next leg in tomorrow’s blog post. 

HOME!

We are home!!!! After a month of being away, it is very nice to be home.

Jeremy did well with the last leg of driving…. Especially after figuring out that the bottom part of the seat-belt is what was causing the pain. 

It was really nice to open up several get well cards.  There were some really sweet ones from Jeremy’s work – so many signatures and well wishes.  Thank you all!

Jeremy already started up the jeep, so he is a happy boy!  Don’t worry he did not drive it far.

Ashley has also been doing well today!  She has had very little pain and no extreme stomach episodes! Praise the Lord!

She has had about 4 bags of fluids, has only eating jell-o and has slept most of the day.  Right now, rest is the best thing for her.   The kidney team has been monitoring her and she had a consult with a GI specialist.  Tomorrow morning she is having an endoscopy and an upper GI biopsy.  Hopefully those two tests will give us a little more direction. 

Thanks again for the prayers and good wishes.  And thank you for understanding that Ashley is not up for talking to people.  She has said she feels a little overwhelmed by phone calls, emails and text and how behind she is on responding to people.  I know you all want to reach out to Ashley to wish her well and check in on her, but she just does not have the energy to communicate right now.   Please know she truly appreciates everyone’s concern and comments.  And we all really appreciate you all being her cheerleaders through this journey.

I will make sure to post another update when we get some news. 

Drive Day 1: NC Coast

We started the drive home on Sunday morning – getting on the road around noon (spring forward sets everything back). 

On the drive, Jeremy and I stopped for lunch at Wilber’s BBQ outside of Kinston.  I was glad to have some yummy Carolina BBQ.  And Wilber’s did not disappoint!

We continued to drive to New Bern and checked into our hotel.  We were especially thrilled to have a king size bed again – especially considering we did not even make it a week after our honeymoon before Jeremy woke up and looked at me and said “we are getting a king size bed TODAY”.

                                                                                                                                                           

We did venture into New Bern to walk around.  Forgetting that it is a small town, most things were already shut down due to it being Sunday after 5pm. 

From there we decided to drive around and wondered over to Morehead City, Atlantic Beach and Beaufort.  

We got out and walked the boardwalk at Atlantic Beach…. It was refreshing to see the beach.  You quickly forget how wonderful it is to be within 10 minutes to the beach.  

Check out our shadow!

I had actually been to Atlantic beach once before in college.  My senior year roommate, Emily, family lived there.  Her mom owns a tea shop and at that time had a location at the beach.  I helped work at Tea by the Sea for the day – I was paid in bubble teas!  

From there we drove down to Beaufort, NC.  Fun fact…. Did you know that both North Carolina and South Carolina have a Beaufort?  Both towns are on the coast, but they are pronounced two different was.  And I have actually spent an Easter at both of them!

It was dinner time and we stopped in Beaufort to eat.  We dined at the Spouter Inn restaurant…. It has to be my favorite restaurant name of all times.  It was also newly renovated with a perfect lime and turquoise color scheme (similar to our own house!).  The restaurant sported beautiful décor, a waterfront view and great food.  I highly recommend the goat cheese salad!

Jeremy was quite wiped from the drive and was experiencing some pain from sitting in the car.  We headed back to the hotel and called it a night!

Tomorrow we will give you a tour of New Bern!

Update: Back in Florida and Back in Hospital!

Jeremy and I have made it back to Florida!!!!

We are staying the night at his brother's house - with Keith, Stacy, Abby and Maddie dog.  We are thankful for some time with family tonight!

It has been a good drive.  Have made several stops and will start posting some pictures (starting tomorrow morning).  The drive has made Jeremy very sore.  He has gone back to taking the pain killers on a regular basis.  He has been experiencing some pain in his incisions, especially his lower laparoscopic scare.  I know he will be thankful to get home and back to resting.

Unfortunately Ashley's update is not as good.  To bring you up to speed, Ashley has been struggling with stomach pains since her first hospital release.  She was put back in the hospital last weekend due to the pain.  Once she came home and was staying with Jeremy and me, she had some episodes, but we managed them.    This past Friday night and Saturday morning she was experiencing some pain.  But after a long shower and some Gatorade, she was doing better.

At first the doctors and transplant team was attributing the stomach pains to her medications.  Although she has been on several of these pills for years, her body is just now fully absorbing the medications.  With the new kidney, there will be a window of adjustments to figure out the right balance.  Since her pain has continued and escalated, the doctors acknowledge that is more then merely a medication issue.  

Then last night the pain got worse, much worse.  Lee, Ashley's boyfriend, took her to the Sanford ER.  She was there last night until about 4am.  She returned home hoping the worst was over.  But she continued to experience extreme pain, so her father drove her to the UNC ER around 7:30am.

There she was given IV fluids and pain killers.  She was resting comfortably during the day. Around 2pm, the kidney team came by (remember Tuesdays are transplant days - so she had to wait till they were out of surgery).  At that time, Dr. Cotton decided to admit Ashley back into the hospital to run test and get to the bottom of the issue (Dr. Cotton was in both operating rooms, has worked with Ashley and took the picture of Jash!).

Around 4pm Ashley got a room back on 5West - I think she is just trying to rack up frequent visitor points!

The last I talked to her was around 5pm.  She is feeling ok now that they have her on fluids and pain meds.  They already did an X-ray and blood, which both came back clean.  She will have a GI consult soon and continue to have tests until the find the cause of her extreme stomach pains.

Please continue to pray for her heath.  She is feeling good and strong from the kidney, but the stomach pains keep setting her back.  Please pray that the Doctors will have wisdom to diagnoses the problem and find a solution.  We continue to pray that her health improves and that these few setbacks will end.

I will try and make updates along the way ~ so stay tuned!

*Update @ 8pm*  Ashley is now resting in her room.  She is trying to catch up on her sleep and regain her strength.  She is requesting that people wait a day or two before calling her.  I know she has not been up to many phone calls and she is behind on emails and FB messages.  We thank you for your prayers and well wishes.... please just stay tuned to the Kidney Cutie Facebook page and the blog for updates.  Thanks!