Cape Canaveral National Cemetery

Mommy and Nana are up way early each morning, but it's nice because they watch the sunrise together, talking and spending time together.  Sometimes Nana even goes back to sleep after this, catching more more rest that they missed in the night.  We haven't slept too much this week, to be honest.  it's been kind of rough in that area.  But things are getting better as we go along.  Today we returned Uncle George's car to the rental car place at the Daytona Airport, which I hadn't been to before.  It is right next to the Daytona Speedway, so we were getting on some backroads there that went by the speedway and let you see almost as much as if we were on tour again.  I think some of that was unintentional, as our car navigator kept telling us to go one way that we thought would take longer, but nevertheless, we went that way.  

WE stopped at Chick-Fil-A together and got some gas at a Wawa gas station, which is the first time I think I've ever stopped at a Wawa gas station.  It was packed, and I have no idea why.  What I do know is that "Wawa" is an extremely funny name if you say it enough times.  I'm not entirely sure how Wawa can be mentioned in a serious sentence, ever. 

Anyway, our next destination was about forty minutes southward, and that was the Cape Canaveral National Cemetery.  

The idea here was to give Nana a sense of peace about the location, and us as well to be honest.  And this cemetery did just that.  It was a serene, peaceful location, and there was something very calming about the place.

Perhaps it was the fact that no one was there, really.  The grounds were very well kept, and Nana felt very happy about the decision for this to be the place where Ba-Ba would be kept.  

On the interstate there, we went through a pretty large thunderstorm, one heavy with rain and darkening the sky.  But as we arrived at the visitor center here, the skies lightened, still a few clouds overhead to provide shade, but not at all rainy like it was previous.

That was very nice for us all.  These are the locations of the urns of veterans, but we don't know precisely where Ba-Ba will be placed at this point.  It was just good enough to see this cemetery in general, and it was a nice visit for all of us.

These shelters are set up, about three of them spaced throughout the grounds, each one placed there for ceremonies.  We're not sure which one we'll be meeting at next week, but this one here is closest to the places where the urns are kept.

Here's a nice quote from Abraham Lincoln nearby, and across the way there's actually a small walkway for people to walk along when visiting the grounds.  

Nana was happy with it, and that was key.  We were worried about coming down here to visit, but she said she'd like to visit the cemetery, and it was somewhat of an inspection, really.  There was never a doubt with her though, as she walked along the place and saw how remarkably well kept it was, how the landscaping was taken care of and how it all looked.

That gave us a sense of peace in addition to it all, knowing that Nana was okay with it.  But beyond that, there was just a very pleasant and quiet atmosphere at this cemetery, a soothing sort of place that was certainly a blessing for us when we needed it.

You can see here how there are many spaces still left to be filled, as this is a newly constructed cemetery.  Ba-Ba was doing research about this quite some time ago, and it was shocking to us at the time because it was one of those things we'd all rather not talk about.  It was long before any diagnosis, or any symptoms really.  But he had it all lined up, and it's been a blessing to act on his wishes and just see things all lined up nicely.  

Mommy and her brother George were happy with this location too.  Certain indoor places were closed off due to the existing pandemic, but overall everything was open.  We stopped here, and a few other locations as well within the cemetery.  But there was an actual funeral that was starting up shortly, so out of respect, we stayed within the car for the other areas, and got ready to make our way home.

On the way home, I was driving, and everyone was so at peace with this, and so restful that all three of my companions in the car fell asleep for the journey home.  They were resting, sleeping well all the way back to the condo.

Here's Nana saying hello to Madison online here.  We've been talking to her a lot this week as Camille has been taking care of her.  Madison's test scores and grades for activities have been absolutely amazing - she's been doing very well.  It was good to see her again, despite all the things going on with the house this week.  

She did her piano class virtually today, that way we could save Camille another trip to Gainesville.  Camille and her mother have been at the house, and aside from all the breakdowns of appliances, things have been going well there, and everyone is having a good time.  Madison is enjoying the company, and we're missing her greatly.

We did a little walk along the beach today, as George stayed with Nana at the condo.  It gave Mommy a chance to take a nice, peaceful walk.  The weather was nice, and the beach has been empty this week.  Not many vacationers now, especially with a hurricane on the other side of the state.  We've seen some rain, but nothing like what the other coast is experiencing.

Mommy looks nice here.  We don't have many of these beach walks left on the coast.  The property is going up for sale, and there are already people scheduling appointments to come by to see the condo.  This next time we leave may be the last beach walk we take.  We'll do a few more this week, and certainly next week.  But these nice strolls along the shore have been a highlight of every visit.

The birds have been enjoying our company as well.  Seagulls, cranes and sandpipers have populated the beach in front of our condo, spending the night there on the sand, and flying off first thing in the morning. The sandpipers dart to and fro as we walk around them.  The seagulls just don't seem to care unless you're right there upon them.  

Mommy found this happy crab shell on the sand, and there have been many shells today washed ashore.  We haven't collected many, and in fact this guy is probably washed right back into the water.  Oh, speaking of which, I saved another fish!  At least for the time being, I did.  He was gasping for air on the sand there, and there weren't any birds around at all.  I have no idea how it happened, but I scooped up the sand once again around this little guy, and deposited him right back into the deepest part of the water I could get to.

Tonight Uncle George was wanting to watch "Men in Black 3," a nice little movie to get our mind off of things a bit, and it was good to sit there and enjoy a movie together.  We'll have to see about getting those so Madison can watch them.  Part three was good.

We went to bed tonight rather early again, and tomorrow we'll no doubt be up earlier.  Nana is sleeping more through the night than at first, and that's good.  Mommy isn't up as much either, and that's good too.  Each day is getting better.