I intended to post a string of photo blogs each day of our New Orleans trip, so I brought my little Canon point-and-shoot and set out walking on Saturday while Robert was in meetings of the National Freedom-of-Information Coalition. Since I forgot my card reader and have no way to transfer photos to the computer, I can't show you some of the funky street scenes I saw on my walk to Walmart to buy a cheap water bottle.

Today it was the camera I forgot! I shot some photos with my cell phone during  our  3 1/2 hour walk through the French Quarter and the Treme- not great quality, but here's some of what we saw.

When we first went walking on Ft. Lauderdale beach, coming home from dinner on Wednesday night, we found some areas that were marked off with posts and pink tape to keep people from crossing them. They were scattered up and down the beach, some close to the ocean and others in the dunes. My long beach walk on Thursday morning, while Robert attended the Society of Professional Journalists board meeting, revealed that these were sea turtle nests being watched over by a group called Sea Turtle Oversight Protection.

So far Maine has been (almost) all about lobsters. What a treat! After an uneventful trip across New Hampshire, we arrived at the Lodge at Turbat’s Creek in Kennebunkport mid-afternoon Monday and headed for the beach. Robert and I have been to this lodge and this beach before, and things were pretty much as we remembered them. Colony Beach is dog-friendly, and we encountered a few pooches and many dog-hungry people there. Chewey ran a bit but, as we expected, was not happy when the waves chased him …

A recent post on the Melanoma Research Foundation’s community list made me sad, mad, and – very thankful for you all. The writer, a newcomer to the community, was venting her frustration at her siblings’ lack of understanding that she is facing a very serious situation – newly diagnosed, recurring melanoma. She wrote: “It is so defeating to know that there will always be a 'next time' for surgery, and stitches, and co-pays. And there will always be another social expectation of a sunny beach get together.”

The understanding from our families and friends – the outpouring of concern, favors small and large, visits, cards, and phone calls – has been so important to us!