Big week of fun activities including travel. And challenges. Of course.

Last week was a lot of "going." And overall that worked out well. Overall.

I had my chauffeur in my sister. And she also served (emphasis on "serve") as car packer/unpacker, fetcher, nurse, organizer...you name my need, and she filled the role!

She arrived the Friday before our busy week. I'd first thought we'd go to our Atlanta portion of the trip on Monday and spend the night along the way to Savannah and arrive in Savannah on Tuesday. But I felt rotten a lot of the week before and decided I'd rather feel rotten at home if I ended up feeling rotten again.

So we went to Atlanta and came home Monday night instead of that excursion being a stop along the way.

Our Atlanta portion was to a WNBA game (tipoff in the pic above). We saw the Atlanta Dream play the Los Angeles Sparks. I splurged for seats near the court, but honestly in the Gateway Center where the game was held and where the Dream usually play is a small enough arena that no seats are very far from the court.

We got there at 5:30 for a 7 o'clock game, expecting the doors to open at 5 as listed on the Dream and arena sites. But nope, the doors opened at 6. So I sat on a bench out front to wait, and that ended up being a lot of fun. My sister helped another woman about our age get her tickets on her phone. Some of us older folks find tickets on apps to be challenging.

We watched other fans arrive. LOTS of tall women who had played basketball at some point in their lives. Everyone was very friendly.

I ended up in a conversation with a couple from Asheville. They asked where I was from and I said "Near Chattanooga." The wife asked, "Where near Chattanooga?" And when I said "Chickamauga" she said "I KNEW it. I knew that's what you were going to say!" Because her husband grew up in...guess where? Yep, Chickamauga!

I was surprised by how many people were from "away." We talked with a couple of women who travel around to a variety of WNBA games all over the country. I thought most fans would be from Atlanta but there was a mix.

Everything went smoothly going in, and we got to our seats. But I was disappointed that the teams weren't warming up then. A handful of players were shooting but most weren't on the court yet.

The energy in the arena was GREAT! Both my sister and I found it to be very positive and uplifting. Lot of people smiling and enjoying themselves. Lots of parents with a kid or two, like the man behind us who had brought his daughter to her first WNBA game.

My only complaint was that it was LOUD for the entire game. Loud music playing constantly. I wanted to comment to my sister about various plays and players but she couldn't hear me unless I yelled—and even then I had to yell my comment two or three times. I finally gave up.

The game was close and fun and the Dream pulled away in the last couple of minutes to break a losing streak. We hung around for a little bit to see what post-game was like. And then we went to the car. Leaving was pretty easy, and the good energy from the game stayed with us for the drive home, even in the long slow-down on I-75 that added at least 45 mintues to our drive.

That was a good test run for our longer Savannah drive later in the week.

I was tired, so I rested on Tuesday and Wednesday. And late Wednesday my stomach started complaining. It's not unusual for me to have nausea so I didn't think anything of it.

Thursday Karla packed the car (with LOTS of my comfort items) and we were on our way to Savannah. I was feeling nauseated so I sipped on ginger ale. Through the downtown connector in Atlanta and south beyond the airport I felt more and more as if I were going actually to have to throw up. So near one exit I told Karla to take the next one, and we found a parking lot with trees and sure enough (TMI warning) I threw up in the grass. That relieved me enough to continue.

I felt somewhat rotten the rest of the drive but we made it to Savannah. My sister had gotten a reservation for The Grey (photo of the front entrance below), a restaurant I've been wanting for years to try. And I was determined that we were keeping that reservation. I didn't feel awful. I'm used to feeling nauseated and know what I might be able to tolerate.

So we went to dinner, and I carefully chose a couple of items on the menu. And asked the bartender to create a ginger mocktail to soothe my stomach.

I enjoyed one of the red rice balls as well as some of the chicken dish I ordered. And got a piece of peach pie to go.

I felt a little better after eating. So we relaxed, and I even had the peach pie. It was excellent!

But then around 10:30 intense nausea kicked in as I was getting ready for bed. (TMI warning). And all of my dinner and dessert came back up.

I slept off and on during the night but never threw up again. I felt rotten all day Friday and canceled my plans to see a friend as well as drive around my home county to see the changes.

And I hoped to feel at least somewhat better the next day for our family reunion, the reason for this trip. I did feel well enough for a drive around downtown Savannah. We even parked in a lot that is the one closest to the Forsyth Park Fountain, and I walked over to the fountain. (Requisite photo below).

And my hopes did manifest! Though I didn't feel great, I started to feel a bit better. Saturday morning my sister and I drove up to our home county a little early to look around at our childhood community area and the two main small towns of our childhood and teenaged years. Boy, lots has changed since I was last down there six years ago.

We arrived at our family reunion right on time for the 12:30pm dinner. A first cousin hosts at his house where he has built a separate AIR CONDITIONED ( a must in July) building for hosting and has a lovely home and pond surrounded by pine trees and fields.

It was wonderful to see cousins I haven't seen in years! A highlight every year is the good food there but I was scared to indulge. The good company and catching up with folks more than made up for my not being able to eat but a tiny bit of chicken.

I shared some hard copy original photos from years past and enjoyed the comments from people as they looked at them. One of our (for me more-distant) cousins had converted old film videos into a current format, and we watched those. It's so weird to see yourself as a five or six year old and realize that's a part of the very same life you're living right now and that both versions of yourself are at the same family annual reunion, one that began in July of the year 1900.

My sister and I stayed until the very end talking with cousins, leaving around four pm. And as the afternoon went on I felt better and better.

And I actually felt good that evening. Maybe it was getting over what may have been a bit of a stomach bug (or med side effects, who knows??), maybe it was the good energy of being with family members. Whatever it was, I was very grateful to feel GOOD. My sister drove me around Savannah. We looked at different parts of town, sharing memories of various places.

The next day a couple of high school friends came over for a visit. I really enjoyed seeing them. Both brought lovely gifts. One gift I'm currently in the process of giving a name. I'll tell you more about that in another post. The other gift, flowers, came back with us and are currently making my living room cheery.

My sister and I headed back to Chickamauga on Monday and had an easy drive getting here. And I rested. And am still resting.

I'm SO VERY GRATEFUL for good travel and being able to go both to a basketball game in Atlanta and on an overnight visit to Savannah for a few days.

And for the good energy of two places, one full of strangers who share a love of sports, and one full of family members I've known for my or their whole lives.

And for my sister, who as usual, played all of the roles I need—and more.

Thus ends my very long post about my big week. One part was a trip I wondered back in the fall right after my metastatic bone cancer diagnosis if I'd ever have a like this again.

Well, I now have had one.

Gratitude abounds!